The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 57 Discussion

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Isa 14:1-4 God's Elect "Shall Take Up This Proverb Against The King of Babylon"

Isa 14:1  For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Isa 14:2  And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
Isa 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,
Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

All Bible types and shadows are based upon historical events which were used by our Lord to deal with His carnal earthly nation of Israel. But the Lord does not have two Israels, two Jewish nations or two elect. The Truth is that there is just one body of Christ, one spirit and one mind of Christ. The Lord's carnal earthly nation was never, ever intended to be the true 'Jew' or the spiritual "Israel of God".

This is what we are told of the physical nation of Israel:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
1Co 10:7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

All that happened to the physical, carnal nation of Israel, "happened unto them... and [was] written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come". 'The ends of the ages" had not and have not come upon the physical nation of Israel. These verses are addressed to faithful Gentile Corinthians, who are now "Jew[s] inwardly... [are now] the commonwealth of Israel... [and are now] the [true] circumcision... of the heart in the spirit":

Gal 3:7  Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8  And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world;
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14  For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Eph 2:15  Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Eph 2:16  And that he might reconcile both [Jews and Gentiles] unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17  And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 2:21  In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
Eph 2:22  In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Armed with the knowledge that there is no such thing as a physical Jewish elect, or a physical Israeli elect, which supposedly coexists with a so-called spiritual elect, and understanding that Christ is, rather, in the process of "making of twain [Jew and Gentile] one new man... that He might reconcile both [Jews and Gentiles] unto God in one body", we are now equipped to understand what we are being told here in Isaiah 14:

Isa 14:1  For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Isa 14:2  And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Remember as we read these words that they are "written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come":

1Co 10:6 Now these things became types of us, for us not to be lusters after evil things, (CLV)

1Co 10:11 Now all this befalls them typically. Yet it was written for our admonition, to whom the consummations of the eons have attained. (CLV)

There is no "physical elect" physical nation of Israel. There is but "one body" composed of those who believe in Christ both of the Jews and of the Gentiles:

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Therefore when we read:

Isa 14:1  For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
Isa 14:2  And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

We must remember that it is we who are "heirs according to the promise", we are "the commonwealth of Israel", and:

Eph 2:19  Now therefore [we] are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

These are indeed "great and precious promises". It is now we who are "Jacob [and] Israel", and it is we of whom we are being told "...the strangers shall be joined to them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place" and the [spiritual] house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were they were, and they shall rule over their oppressors".

The fact that we possess those who were our captors "in the land of the Lord" is confirmation of this verse of scripture in the book of Revelation:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

There is a great truth here which is yet to be demonstrated in an outward way before the kingdom of God is established over the kingdom of this world. That great truth will be as revealing and as exciting as the way in which the Lord brought Joseph from the prisons of Egypt to rule over all the nation of Egypt. It will be as revealing and as surprising for us as how our Lord placed Daniel and his fellows over all the province of Babylon. It will be just as miraculous as how the Lord worked the deliverance of the Jews from those who oppressed them when the king of Persia oredered the death of all the Jews in his kingdom just before he also declared that they were to defend themselves and gave the Jews the authority to destroy them "whose captives they were". Somehow the Lord will cause our very oppressors "in the land of the Lord [to] bring [us] to [our] place", and He will cause us to take possessison of  our oppressors for servants and handmaids:

Isa 14:2  And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Like with Joseph, Daniel, and Mordecai and Esther, the Lord has devised means that "the people will take [us] and bring [us] to [our] place, as kings and priests to rule with Christ over the kingdoms of this world for a thousand years only if we take our captors captive within first:

Exo 19:5  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar [Greek: special] people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

These are both inward and outward "great and precious promises", but we will never realize the outward fulfillment of ruling with Christ in His millennial kingdom if we do not first realize the successful inward conquest against "Mystery Babylon The Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth". What that means is that the second beast which comes up out of the earth (Rev 13:11-18) must also receive a "daily" (1Co 15:31) deadly wound which will never be healed, but will rather "endure [that wound] to the end":

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth ["dying daily"] to the end shall be saved.

Joh 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

How do we "glorify... the Son of Man"? How do we "serve [Christ]"? We do so in the same manner He served and pleased His Father. We do so by doing the things He says for us to do, which includes dying for the sins of this world:

Joh 18:37  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Mar 8:31  And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Mar 8:32  And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
Mar 8:33  But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

Christ did not just look at Peter. He "looked on His disciples". As His disciples we, too, are sent by Christ to die for our brothers. As we just read we are sent by our Lord to do what His Father sent Him to do:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

What dies within us is "the man of sin... the beast, and the king of Babylon", all of which are the one and the same "old man... the first man Adam" within us:

Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam, was made a quickening spirit.

The death of the king of Babylon takes place within us "daily" as "the beast, the man of sin, the first man Adam", decreases and dies within us.

Joh 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.

Babylon is not the literal city of ancient Babylon, as some have foolishly contended. Rather, the king of Babylon is now called "mystery Babylon", and to maintain this 'mystery' the king of Babylon in the book of Revelation is called "the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth".

"The king of Babylon" is also called "that great city" in the book of Revelation. In this 14th chapter of Isaiah 'Babylon' is presented to us as a king who is called "the oppressor... the golden city... who smote the people in wrath [and] ruled the nations in anger".

Adding to the "mystery" in the book of Revelation Babylon is called a harlot and the mother of harlots and of abominations of the earth:

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

As we "present our bodies a living sacrifice to God, we die daily, and we are being given dominion over the king of Babylon within us while we are yet in these dying clay vessels, if indeed Christ is living His life within us as we are plainly told:

Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

The word "being" demonstrates that this is speaking of an ongoing process, but the word "now" also demonstrates that this process in "now" in progress within our lives, which brings us to the fact that this process is being spoken of as "the day that the Lord... give[s us] rest from [our] sorrow... and from the hard bondage [to sin] wherein [we were] made to serve", the very situation Paul is discussing in Romans 6:14, 18, and 22:

Isa 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,
Isa 14:4  That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament refer to the king of Babylon as a "city [which] ceases" to exist:

Rev 11:8  And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Rev 16:19  And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Rev 18:10  Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Rev 18:16  And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

Rev 18:18  And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
Rev 18:19  And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Rev 18:21  And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

This "great city, which reigns over the kings of this earth", here in Isaiah 14 is given the title of a king as well as a mysterious adulterous woman in the book of Revelation:

Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Why is "the king of Babylon" called a mysterious adulterous harlot in the book of Revelation? The answer is that this king is the flip side of those who follow Christ. In both the Old and New Testaments, God's people are presented to us as His wife and as His Son:

Here the Lord refers to Israel as an unfaithful and adulterous wife:

Isa 1:21  How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

And here He refers to them as His "first born Son":

Hos 11:1  When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

This seemingly contradictory symbolism carries through into the New Testament as Biblical symbols of Christ's faithful wife and His faithful children:

Here we are called His "chaste virgin":

2Co 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

And here we are called His sons:

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

It is these "sons of God", also called "a chaste virgin... espoused to one husband", who will be used by God to punish those who were sent by the Lord to punish and to humble us.

The message is consistent in both the Old and the New Testaments:

Isa 14:2  And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

This must take place over the kingdoms and principalities which usurp the dominion over the temple and the kingdom of God within us, before it will be given us to rule with Christ in His outward kingdom for a thousand years:

Luk 17:20  And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Luk 17:22  And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it.
Luk 17:23  And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them.
Luk 17:24  For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

The kingdom of God is within us, and within His kingdom within us is a place also called His temple, and as Christ has just informed us, His kingdom within us comes to us "as the lightning" and His kingdom within us destroys the staff of our wicked oppressor, our rebellious "old... man of sin", who dwells within His temple "which temple [we] are".

Here is how the holy spirit repeats Christ's words here as in the above verses of Luke 17:

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [within us], shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of [lightning of] his coming:

So while the whole Christian world is looking for an outward temple to be built in the outward city of Jerusalem, in the outward nation of Israel, the true "man of sin" within us remains securely ensconced upon the throne of Christ within the temple of God "which temple [we] are", and he has been there chuckling to himself while the world is waiting for him to appear on the scene outwardly only at the end of this age, in spite of the revelation Christ bequeathed us that His kingdom and His temple are and always have been "within [us]" (Luk 17:20-21).

The physical nation of Israel was outwardly dealt "a deadly wound" inflicted upon that nation by God in 70 A.D. That outward 'deadly wound' was seemingly miraculously outwardly healed in 1948 when the nation of Israel appeared to many to be resurrected from the dead, and the whole world from that day has, in a sense, "wondered after the beast", declaring it to be God's "physical elect" in spite of the fact that modern Israel and modern Jews are just as dead set against their own Savior now as they were the day they delivered Him up to Pilate to be crucified.

Act 3:13  The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

Lest I be accused of anti-semitism, let me point out that the whole point Peter is making here is that Christ was not condemned to death by Rome, but was condemned to death by His own people, and by the very people "who believed upon Him". That is why it is such a big mistake to blame the Romans and Pilate with the death of Christ with the intent of absolving His own people when we are clearly told Pilate "was determined to let Him go".

Here are those who delivered Christ up to Pilate to be crucified:

Joh 8:30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.

It was the religious establishment which delivered Christ to the Romans to be crucified. The religious establishment of Christ's day symbolizes the religious establishment of today, and whether that religious establishment be Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, Christ's words and His doctrines until this very day "have no place in [them]". John 8:37 is as true today for those who claim to be His disciples and who claim to believe in Him, but have no room in themselves for His words and His doctrines as those words were when Christ first uttered them. "You seek to kill me, because my words have no place in you."

Next week we will see more of the fate of the king of Babylon and the great harlot who is but another symbol of those by whom the Lord chastens His people.

Here are our verses for next week's study:

Isa 14:5  The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.
Isa 14:6  He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.
Isa 14:7  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
Isa 14:8  Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.
Isa 14:9  Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isa 14:10  All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Isa 14:11  Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.