Babylon and the Day of the Lord Pt.II

The Day of the Lord in Hebrew Poetry

The Bible seems to indicate TWO DOTL events.

There are historical instances of the DOTL visited upon “Babylon” throughout the course of history. These occur when, in the normal course of human history, one human society falls to another as sinful humanity has a tendency to sow its own seeds of destruction. These, however, are orchestrated by God.

In Isaiah, God uses Assyria to judge Israel, but then Assyria is judged for her wickedness against Israel. Isaiah says similar things about Babylon, etc.

Daniel 2 really bears this idea out with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue.

But there is also the future instance of the DOTL. All of the historical instances point and serve as an “type” of the final DOTL, an appointed time when God finally eradicates evil from His good creation and Babylon is dealt her deathblow.

A reminder again about Babylon — her heart is bent on self-exaltation and self-rule.

Isaiah names the true problem of Babylon (Isaiah 2:12 “For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;” Isaiah 2:17-19 “And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.”)

Then, note what the Lord says concerning literal Babylon because of her actions against Jerusalem: Isa.13:5-6 “They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the Lord and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!”

So, what has Babylon done to deserve this? Again, Isaiah is instructive: Isa.14:12-15 ““How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.”

Isaiah is addressing the king of Babylon, and it comes on the heels of chapter 13, a clear prediction of Babylon’s judgment.

But, the prophecy/pronouncement goes deeper, referring also to the “God-hating, self-exalting ‘spirit of Babylon’ that pervades every empire in human history.”

The heart of Satan and every human empire that would walk under his influence, in opposition to the ways of God, joins in this boast: “I will make myself like the Most High.”

The DOTL is often depicted as a Great War, using battlefield imagery like smoke, fire, carnage, etc., using dramatic and shocking images as a poetic emphasis.

Isa.13:10-11 “For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.”

Joel 3:15-16 “The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.”

Zeph.1:14-16 “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.”

Yet, despite their proclamations of judgment, the prophets hold out the hope of deliverance to those who will turn to the LORD.

Joel 2:31-32 “The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”

Zeph.3:8-10 ““Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.”

God comes, a Conquering King, to strike down all who OPPOSE Him, but to rescue and save those who are COMMITTED to Him.

So, we see poetic and symbolic language used by biblical authors to portray this day that is both great and terrible.

Next...

The Day of the Lord and the War on Evil

The DOTL actually gives us a little insight into Jesus and His calling.

Think about the historical context of Jesus’ birth…Israel is under the thumb of Roman rule. That’s why you see groups like the zealots…freedom fighters who sought the liberation of Israel from Roman rule. That’s why there was such a misunderstanding about Jesus as the Messiah…why so many were unwilling to accept Him, because they were looking for the Conquering King Messiah, not the Suffering Servant Messiah…even His own disciples missed this.

Was Jesus a King on the offensive? Yes, but He understood the true nature of the battle, especially in His first coming, aligning with Isaiah’s theology in a fight against dark spiritual forces as the true enemy.

So, Paul makes the claim in Eph.6:12 “...we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” We understand, as we should have all along, if we’re tracking the entire story of salvation history…the heilsgeschichte…we know that the battle was spiritual. We remember the serpent that was judged in Genesis. We recall the verse we just looked at, the morning star that fell from heaven…the one called “Lucifer” in Latin.

What actually happens then is that Jesus bears the DOTL at the hands of the Roman empire so that the people of God wouldn’t have to.

Babylon tends to wield the weapon of death as its primary and choice threat.

But, Jesus conquers evil and death, first by being conquered by evil and death before finally and utterly defeating both in the resurrection. 1 Cor.15:55-57 ““O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Judge is judged for our sake, but through this the victim becomes the Victor!

This first battle with evil deals with the sinful hearts of His creation, that they might escape the final battle with evil…more on that in a moment.

The Day of the Lord and Babylon’s Downfall

We saw God’s response to both Babel and Egypt (the New Babylon) last week. But, we left Israel emerging as a sort of new new Babylon as a warning against embracing Babylon ourselves. Let’s return to “Israel-become-Babylon” for a moment and trace the outcome…much of this you may already be aware of.

Israel became not a beacon to the nations but rather a lighthouse of idolatry. They embrace such wickedness as injustice, abuse of the poor, literal idolatry, and an outright abandon of God’s statutes.

Notice, then, what the prophet says: Habakkuk 1:5-6 ““Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.” Before you say, “We’re talking about Babylon…so what do the Chaldeans have to do with anything?” Glad you asked…Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians, was a Chaldean.

Now that Israel has become a new “Babylon,” they can expect the fate of Babylon. Why can we say this? Amos 5:18 “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light.”

So, we get this picture…think back to the “historical instances” of the DOTL, where Israel suffers defeat as Babylon at the hands of literal Babylon because the Day of the Lord has visited them. And, God’s character is such that He cannot continually suffer Babylon. He will, according to Genesis, redeem and deliver His people. While evil may sometimes appear to win the day, it will never win the war.

As believers, we can bank on the fact that Babylon will fall. Which brings us to our last thought...

The Day of the Lord and Evil’s Final Fall

Revelation shows the church the final downfall of Babylon.

There is a great city, symbolically called ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ and it’s named the place where Jesus is crucified, so even Jerusalem is implicated here. It stands again as a unified rejection of God’s rule. See Rev.11.

Babylon is symbolized in Rev.17-19 as a dragon, called “Babylon the great,” and is depicted as this monstrous economic and military force.

Really, the imagery paints a picture of some great and intimidating force…and it is. I mean the war it wages against God’s people has consistently been nothing short of a blood bath. It seems the picture of it all is meant to impress upon us an enemy that is unbeatable by human standards. But then...

Jesus shows up for the final battle. And there is this picture of Jesus that is recurring throughout the book of Revelation, but suddenly it changes. Up until this point, it’s been the Lamb, the One appearing as though He had been slain, and we understand and relate it to the battle we were mentioning before — Christ’s victory as the Suffering Servant over the chief adversary of sin. But now, notice how Jesus is described:

Revelation 19:11–16 ESV

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

And this is the Conquering King that deals the final death blow to the ancient evil Babylon, and more specifically, its chief architect, for Rev.20:10 “...the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

There’s still a lot to be unpacked, I know, but this lays the foundation for understanding how John’s Revelation pans out: Babylon unites in her rebellion against God’s good rule, but the Day of the Lord is coming when evil is dealt with forevermore.

There is an evil at work in the world. But, there is a God bent on delivering His people at just the right time. Therefore, take heart. God is not absent and aloof.

Whatever we face, let us patiently endure. Faithfulness is the path we are called to walk, and we walk until we are called home or Christ returns.

Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. The response we make to the victorious Suffering Servant makes all the difference on the Day of the Lord when the Conquering King returns.