The Prophecy of Isaiah - Part 58 Discussion

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Isa 14:5-11 The Lord Has Broken The Staff of The Wicked... King o​f Babylon

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.

This fourteenth chapter of Isaiah in realtiy has very little to say about Satan Himself, and is rather first and foremost "a proverb against the king of Babylon" within each of us as we saw in last week's study.

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!

In our last study we noted how the message, "How has the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!" are repeated concerning "Mystery Babylon" in the book of Revelation:

Rev 18:1  And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Rev 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

The fall and destruction of Babylon within each of us is essential to the message of our salvation. We are all at first greatly invested in the lies and false doctrines, which symbolically are "every foul spirit, and... every unclean and hateful bird", and we are heavily invested in all that is valuable to Mystery Babylon, before the kingdom of that great harlot city is destroyed within each of us.

This phrase, "Babylon is fallen", is repeated in Isaiah 21, in Jeremiah and in the book of Revelation:

Isa 21:4  My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.
Isa 21:5  Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield.
Isa 21:6  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
Isa 21:7  And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:
Isa 21:8  And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
Isa 21:9  And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.
Isa 21:10  O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

Jer 51:8  Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.

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 18:2  And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird [Lies and false doctrines that keep us in bondage to Babylon's oppression within our lives].

In Isaiah 21 the fall of Babylon is followed by the groanings of the work of the threshing and crushing which occur on any threshing floor, which threshing floor symbolizes our darkened and deceived hearts and minds. The fall of Babylon within us is an excruciating time of our lives, because everything we have ever believed has been exposed as nothing less than lies and strong delusion. At this point we are beginning to see the truth but we are "yet [so] carnal" that we want to stuff our newly found truths down the throats of family and friends who are still in strong delusion and we ourselves are still such carnal babes in Christ (1Co 3:1-4) that we:

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and [we] shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in [our] hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give [our] kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

In changing the word 'their' to 'our' I am not at all 'adding to the word' because we are admonished at the very opening of this prophecy:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

It is at this point, when we are just beginning to see Babylon for the harlot she is, that:

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.

"The king of Babylon" is our old man who has "no place within [him]" (Joh 8:37) for the Words and doctrines of Christ. We just naturally hate a doctrine which commands us to "love [our] enemies". As one minister who claimed to be a Christian teaches,"Those words ("love thine enemies") are bad advice at best, and at worst they will get you killed." That is just how lacking in faith and in spiritual knowledge or in commitment to Christ and His words those are who "believe in Him" and yet "seek to kill [Him]. because [His] word has no place in [them]".

This is what the apostle Paul has to say about such men:

1Ti 6:3  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
1Ti 6:4  He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
1Ti 6:5  Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

What that minister and all of us at first cannot see or understand is that it is only "through death" that we gain our lives, and that it is by the daily death and destruction of our old man that our new man is given a new mind and is being birthed into the kingdom of God.

Joh 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. [How is the Son of Man glorified within us?]
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 [Greek: kosmos - this world] shall keep it unto life eternal.

Col 1:22  In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

These New Testament words are the spiritual reiteration of the same message which is in these words in Deuteronomy:

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

The cities of the old man within us must be given absolutely no quarter at all if we hope to "keep [our life] unto life eternal". "You shall save alive nothing that breaths [within our old man]!" That is the good news which, according to our Lord, will bring us life:

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.

As we die to our merciless old taskmaster, known as "the man of sin", we are ceasing from our works and we are entering into Christ's workmanship in our lives, and we are following Him. When we 'come out of [Babylon]' we are entering into His 'rest'.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of [our] works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Christ within us does not produce our own unrighteous works. Christ's workmanship within us produces "good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them". When Christ lives His life of dying daily to the king of Babylon and the pulls of the flesh within us, then it can truthfully, spiritually be declared:

Isa 14:7  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.

And it will also be declared of "the law of sin" within our flesh, and of the "the king of Babylon, the man of sin" within us:

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.

These "fir trees... and the[se] cedars of Lebanon" are the positive application of these trees within scripture, and in this case their safety and prosperity typify the growth and nourishment of our new man who is increasing within us as we are dying daily to the law of sin within our members:

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though [the king of Babylon within us] our outward man perish, yet the inward man [the fir trees and cedars of Lebanon within us] is renewed day by day.

Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Our new man is being made into "the image of Him that created him" because we are all, being created by Christ, whether now in this age or later in the lake of fire, we are being "renewed in knowledge after the image of Him [who is] creat[ing] us into His [own] image".

As this process continues, we are given to do battle with the beast within us, and for the first time ever, Christ within destroys the beast with the brightness of His coming. Up until this time we are forced to ask with all men "who is able to make war with [the beast within us]":

Rev 13:2  And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Rev 13:3  And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Rev 13:4  And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

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 his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

Here in Revelation 13 is a simple Biblical Truth concerning our inability of ourselves to wage war against the beast who occupies the temple of Christ within us. This truth had already been made clear in Romans 7:

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

Here we have a very clear doctrine, confirmed by the sum of the Lord's Word, teaching us His Truth. That Truth is that we, of ourselves, are helpless and hopeless when struggling against the beast we all are. We are powerless against "the law of sin... in [our] members". That law of sin is a law which He, the "one lawgiver", has placed "in [our] members". Twice we are told that we of ourselves have absolutely no power which can deliver us from this law which is "in [our] members". This is all clearly stated, and it is consistently taught throughout the Lord's Word, and yet the Lord Himself has hidden this truth from the masses and multitudes of mankind (Mat 13:9-15). He has accomplished this by blinding the minds of those who believe on Him but have no place within them for His words". It simply is not given to the masses who believe on Christ to see that "it is not I that [sin] but [it is] sin that dwells in me". Christ's doctrines simply have no place in us until we are given eyes to see and ears to hear:

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.

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

Jas 4:12  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

This is all by design. We were made sinners by nature, and God has devised means to deliver us from ourselves and from the man of sin who we all are by nature:

2Sa 14:14  For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

Ecc 1:13 I applied my heart to inquiring and exploring by wisdom concerning all that is done under the heavens: it is an experience of evil Elohim has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it. (CLV)

The Lord and His apostles all reveal to us what is the "means [which] He [has] devised that His banished be not expelled from Him", and that "means [which] He has devised" requires that we acknowledge that we are spiritually blind as a bat and helpless and hopeless to overcome the law of sin which He has placed within our members to humble us by it.

Knowing all of this provoked this exclamation from the apostle Paul:

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

"Christ in you [is our only] hope of glory". That Truth is the 'mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations'.

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

But our "hope of glory" requires the death of our old man, "the king of Babylon", and his entire kingdom within us. That is the subject of this "proverb against the king of Babylon" who at first occupies and dwells within the kingdom of God within each of us.

This is what the Lord has devised for this dying beast which in this chapter is called "the king of Babylon" within 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.

Just so we are all aware, the Hebrew word which has been translated as 'hell' in the King James here in Isa 14:9, is:

H7585
שְׁאֹל שְׁאוֹל
she'ôl    she'ôl
sheh-ole', sheh-ole'
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.

This is the exact same word which is much more properly translated as 'grave' just two verses later in verse 11.

The truth is:

Ecc 9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecc 9:6  Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.

The figurative language in these verses has the dead leaders of mankind speaking to the dying beast within us all. But look at what these dead leaders ask "the king of Babylon" within us.

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 [H7585: sheol], and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

These are not words being directed to a spirit being of any kind or of any rank. Clearly these words are being addressed to a physically dead human leader, who has the capacity of going "down to the grave" and being under spread and covered with worms.

So much for the false doctrine which teaches that this chapter describes the fall of Satan from the heavens as the result of a rebellion by Satan and his angels. This false doctrine claims that Satan's rebellion was the fruit and result of Satan's supposed 'free will', which caught God completely by surprise, requiring God to create an ever-burning hell to house Satan and his angels along with all men who choose to go there with Satan and be tormented for all eternity rather than repent of their sins against their loving heavenly Father. How utterly absurd!

As we will see even more clearly in our next study, 'sheol' cannot literally speak. These questions which sheol symbolically poses to the dead king of Babylon are not questions which can be posed to a spirit being, but they are rather questions which are posed to mere men who "say in [their] hearts, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God":

Isa 14:12  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!
Isa 14:13  For thou hast said in thine heart, 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:
Isa 14:14  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16  They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17  That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Isa 14:18  All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
Isa 14:19  But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
Isa 14:20  Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
Isa 14:21  Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
Isa 14:22  For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.