Isa 21:1-10 Babylon Is Fallen, Is Fallen - Part 2

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Isa 21:1-10 Babylon Is Fallen, Is Fallen - Part 2

Isa 21:1  The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
Isa 21:2  A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.
Isa 21:3  Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
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.

This is the second part of our study on the first ten verses of Isaiah 21 which concern themselves with the fall of Babylon. Last week we stopped our study in the scriptures which demonstrate the tremendous loss we experience as we are given to come out of her. As the apostle Paul puts it:

1Co 3:15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

We covered just the first two verses of this chapter in our last study. These two verses just begin to inform us of the great sense of loss we feel when we are finally dragged out of the harlot system which we thought loved us and cared for us. Indeed that system hates to lose any who contribute to her welfare, and she will do all in her power to keep us addicted to her lies and her fornication.

Here is a little about that loss which we went over at the end of our last study:

Isa 24:16  From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
Isa 24:17  Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Isa 24:18  And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
Isa 24:19  The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
Isa 24:20  The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
Isa 24:21  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
Isa 24:22  And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
Isa 24:23  Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

"The foundations of the earth do shake" because we discover that everything we have ever been taught by this self-centered whore is a lie. "The earth" in these verses symbolizes world-wide Babylon, the religions of mankind, who refuses to hear the Words of the Lord. It is "that great city wherein our Lord was crucified... Babylon the great" (Rev 11:8) to whom these words are addressed:

Jer 22:29  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

These words are addressed to the Lord's own apostate people:

Jer 22:1  Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
Jer 22:2  And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

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.

Babylon had brought great distress and sighs and groaning to many nations, and now their sighs are ceasing as Babylon is being destroyed. This is a reiteration of what we were told in:

Isa 14:3  And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy travail, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,
Isa 14:4  that thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say: How hath the oppressor ceased! the exactress of gold ceased!
Isa 14:5  The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers,
Isa 14:6  That smote the peoples in wrath with an incessant stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.
Isa 14:7  The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing.
Isa 14:8  Yea, the cypresses rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon: 'Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us.'

How sweet it is to "come out of her" and no longer bear all of her many demanding burdens. How liberating it is to come out from under either the law of Moses or the law of the Gentiles. Both are called in scripture "the elements of this world" (Gal 4:1-3 and 9-10), and both make us slaves to "the traditions of men" (Col 2:8):

Gal 3:23  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

But we do not come out from under the law without paying the ultimate price, and that price is the death of our old man and the destruction of his entire rebellious kingdom. That is why Isaiah, as a type of you and of me, walked naked before Israel as a sign of what God was doing to Egypt and Ethiopia within us, and that is why we now read these words regarding the fall of Babylon and how that destruction also affects the kingdom of our old man:

Isa 21:3  Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

Isaiah confesses that the fall of Babylon "filled [him] with pain." He confesses, "I was dismayed at the seeing of it". When we are told, and when we finally come to see, that the son of the bondwoman, the symbol of our old man, cannot be made heir with the son of the free woman, we all just naturally cry out with Abraham:

Gen 17:18  And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Also, the apostle Paul, being the original "replacement theologian" he was, tells us and the Gentile Galatians:

Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Being human we feel the loss of the things of our flesh, and it is so severe that we say:

Isa 21:4  My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

Here is the fulfillment of these words concerning the fall of Babylon and how it affects us in the book of Revelation:

Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
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 18:11  And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

It is painful to watch our own flesh be destroyed and die.

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.

We are this watchman, and as such we have an altar, a "table", at which they that serve the tabernacle  have no right to eat:

Heb 13:9  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
Heb 13:10  We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

It is Babylon and her daughters who are really in the service of Christ, our "tabernacle", and unlike the daughters of the harlot who all subscribe to the mantra "agreement in the essentials, tolerance of the non-essentials, but love in all things", God's elect know there are no "non-essentials" and instead:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

It is only Christ's elect who have His mind which teach the exact opposite of Babylon's all-inclusive mantra with these words:

1Co 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

It is our heart that pants, that is "affrighted" and turned into fear. We are afraid because we are this "watchman", and it is we who see what is coming upon Babylon within us.

Eze 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

So we are the Lord's watchmen in every generation, and as such we had better have this mindset, which Christ told Peter to have:

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Yes, those words do prove that the words of Christ are spirit, but that fact does not mean that the aions (eons) do not have a consummation or that this age will not come to a climactic end. This age will come to a climactic end, and we need to have a scriptural mindset concerning the end of this age for which Peter tells us to always be prepared, and not to have the mindset of those who died in the flood of Noah:

2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

"The world that then was [and] the heavens and the earth, which are now" are two of the three steps of the process of judgment. There is still a "shall be" third step to that process of "fiery... judgment and perdition of ungodly men" and that third step is the perdition and death of our flesh which produces a new man who is conformed to the spiritual image of Christ.

There are yet many people, to this day, who still think "all things [will just simply] continue as they were from the beginning of the creation", and they do not believe that "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout" and raise those who "are asleep in Christ" to reign with Him a thousand years:

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [Greek: phthanō - precede] them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

I pray that none of us are of that false spirit, and that rather we have this Biblical mindset concerning end time events:

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Notice that Elam and Media of verse 2 here in Isaiah 21 are the same as "the Medes" of chapter 13:

Isa 13:17  Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

Later these same peoples are called the Medes and the Persians. As the Assyrians and the Babylonians before them, they are both one and the same people.

Daniel tells the last Babylonian king, King Belshazzar, to whom his kingdom is being given:

Dan 5:28  PERES; Thy kingdom [Babylon] is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

This prophecy of Isaiah was prophesied many years before the prophet Daniel. Then Daniel witnessed the outward physical fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies concerning the physical downfall of the kingdom of Babylon at the physical hands of "the Medes and the Persians".

These physical events "happened unto them and they are written for our [spiritual] admonition" (1Co 10:11). The inward spiritual and the outward end time fulfillment of the fall of spiritual Babylon is symbolized by "ten kings" who will destroy the harlot, Babylon, and then they will fight against, and be conquered by, "the Lord and His Christ":

Rev 17:12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
Rev 17:13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

The spiritual details of the work of these "ten horns", who "shall make [the whore] desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire" are given us in Revelation 18. Those details of Babylon's destruction are not the topic of our study today. However, it is in Revelation 18 that we read the words from this chapter of Isaiah, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen..." as we are about to see:

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:

The watchman saw "horsemen... asses... and camels" and yet He answers, "A lion my Lord". Having discussed this in great detail with our brother Dave Rogers, I have come to see that the word 'lion' is as out of place as it appears to be, and that the Septuagint is apparently a better translation here in this verse. Here is how the Septuagint translates verse 8:

Isa 21:8  And call Uriah to the watchtower of the lord! And he said, I stood always by day, and over the camp I stood all the night.

Uriah was the high priest in the time of this writing, and he typifies who we are with Christ as His watchman. Uriah the priest symbolizes us, as the Lord's Christ, the watchman who witnesses the fall of Babylon and shares what he came out of with others whom the Lord is dragging out of Babylon, just as the angels dragged Lot and his wife and two daughters out of Sodom:

Gen 19:15  And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
Gen 19:16  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
Gen 19:17  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

As such we have this same vigilant spirit and mindset which Peter also admonishes us to maintain. We tell the Lord "I stood always by day, and over the camp I stood all the night" as we sound the alarm at the impending fall of Babylon:

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.

This is the first appearance in scripture of the phrase "Babylon is fallen, is fallen", and it comes out of the mouth of the Lord's watchman whom He has placed there to inform His people. There is no warning of the fall of Babylon as there is against the evil shepherds here in the book of Isaiah. We look behind us and see what occurred in Babylon in our lives, but we had no warning. However, we are admonished to warn the Lord's flock against false doctrine (Act 20:28).

Eze 3:20  Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

Eze 33:6  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.

We simply witness to what has happened within ourselves, and we share that experience with others: "Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods He has broken to the ground!"

This is who we are within the body of Christ:

Eze 33:1  Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 33:2  Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
Eze 33:3  If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Eze 33:4  Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Eze 33:5  He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
Eze 33:6  But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
Eze 33:7  So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

In the book of Revelation the "the graven images of her gods" are the false doctrines which are called "idols of [her] heart" (Eze 14:1-9). In the book of Revelation, however, those same false doctrines are called "her fornication", and it is "her fornication" which precipitates the wrath of God upon the religions of this world.

The warning given by the Lord's watchmen is His Truth in opposition to all the lies which are constantly attempting to invade and destroy the Lord's flock. When we fail to point out the lies of the treacherous shepherds which come to us and attempt to destroy and scatter the Lord's flock, the Lord says "his blood will I require at the watchman's hand", and we are guilty of that blood. Here are the words of Ezekiel 33:6 in the words of the apostle Paul:

Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
Act 20:28  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Act 20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Act 20:30  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Act 20:31  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

The Greek word for 'overseers' is 'episkopos', and it is most often translated as 'bishop', but a Godly 'bishop' of the Lord's flock is a good "overseer" of the Lord's flock. Paul was "innocent of the blood of all men" simply because He had fought hard against all those who would devour and scatter the Lord's flock. While He was able, he did not let the fornication of spiritual Babylon infect the Lord's flock:

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.

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.

"That which I have heard of the Lord... have I declared unto you." Or as Paul puts it:

Act 20:26  Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Act 20:27  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

These prophecies are not pleasant to have to give to the Lord's Israel or to Babylon. Nevertheless "that which [we] hear of the Lord [is what we must] declare unto you." Neither Christ nor the apostle Paul preached "smooth things". They "preach[ed] the Word... in season and out of season."

2Ti 4:2  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

It was the word they had heard of the Lord. Their message never changed. Christ was right up front with His disciples, and He is right up front with all of us when He tells us:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

If we are good watchmen and we are given to 'lose' our life in Christ's service, then we have this promise:

Mar 10:28  Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
Mar 10:29  And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
Mar 10:30  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Mar 10:31  But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

Next week, if the Lord wills, we will cover these verses:

Isa 21:11  The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
Isa 21:12  The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
Isa 21:13  The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
Isa 21:14  The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
Isa 21:15  For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war.
Isa 21:16  For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
Isa 21:17  And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken it.