Yesterday Isaiah foresaw lookouts posted on the watchtowers of the cities of the kingdom of Babylon, waiting for news. We talked about how the Medo-Persian army broke through the walls of the capital city of Babylon, flooding into the city and engaging its citizens in battle---a battle in which many Babylonians perished, including their king. Now Isaiah foresees this bad news traveling around the region.
"And the lookout shouted, 'Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: 'Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!'" (Isaiah 21:8-9) We don't know which city is in view here, although I imagine the vision represents several cities where the same event occurred.
The scene is something like this: The man in the watchtower on the city walls sees a chariot with a team of horses approaching, driving wildly, and he knows there is news. He knows it is probably bad news, similar to how Paul Revere made his ride calling out, "The British are coming!" The watchman shouts down to the driver and asks him what has happened and the driver answers, "Babylon has fallen!" By this the watchman knows the capital city has been overtaken by the enemy.
The gods of Babylon (which are false gods) have not been able to protect those who worship them. These deities can do nothing good or bad for those who make offerings to them. These deities cannot even protect the images that represent them; therefore, Isaiah says, "All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!"
In Isaiah's day the nation of Babylon was not a great world power. It had been in the past but had fallen into decay. But it will rise again soon, overthrowing its oppressor---the Assyrian Empire---and taking over many other nations, including Isaiah's nation of Judah. When the people of Judah are taken captive to the foreign land of Babylon and held for approximately seventy years, they will have the word of Isaiah to study. They will know the prophecy of the downfall of Babylon. They will know that the Medes and the Persians will overthrow Babylon. Isaiah's words will be a comfort to them then and, as he relays the message of the Lord to the people of his own day, he assures them that it is the infallible and unfailing word of God. "My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel." (Isaiah 21:10)
Later in our study of the Bible, when we arrive at the book of Revelation, we will see the rise of an empire which is symbolically referred to as "Babylon". It is the corrupt world system of the end times. It is a world system of materialism. It is a world system of false religion. But that empire too will fall, just as ancient Babylon fell. When the Lord gives the Apostle John a vision of the end times, the same cry will go up that went up in ancient times: "Babylon has fallen!" And just as the Lord predicted that ancient Babylon would never be rebuilt, the corrupt empire of the end times will never rise again either. The Lord will put down, once and for all, the rebellion of man. The Lord will put down, once and for all, the workings of Satan and the angels who followed him in revolt against the Lord. Never again will there be wickedness on the earth. The kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ will begin and will last forever.
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