Babylon to Be Destroyed

“The Lord will have mercy on Israel, choosing them again and returning them to their own lands. Gentile converts will be adopted into the house of Israel, and they will bring the house of Israel to their place from the far ends of the earth, returning them to their lands of promise. Israel’s descendants will then rightfully possess these lands, capturing and ruling over their oppressors, who will become their servants and handmaids.

“In those very last days, when the Lord delivers Israel’s descendants from sorrow, fear, and hard, forced labor, they will repeat this proverb against the king of Babylon, the Antichrist: ‘Who has put an end to the oppressor and the golden city, Babylon? The Lord! He has broken the staff of the wicked and the scepters of the rulers. He who struck the people in wrath continually, who ruled the nations in anger, is now persecuted, and nobody will help him.

“ ‘The whole earth is at rest and is quiet. Those remaining break into singing! The people of Joseph and Judah rejoice over your demise, saying, “Since you have been cut down, no one attacks us.” Hell has made special arrangements for you, stirring up the dead—even all the wicked chiefs and kings—to meet you. These men will taunt you, saying, “Have you become weak like us? Your glory is brought down to hell. Your music is no longer heard, and worms cover you.”

“ ‘How you have fallen from heaven as Lucifer, the son of the morning! You have been cut down to the ground, you who once weakened the nations! This is your reward, because like Lucifer, you said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the heights of the north. I will ascend higher than the clouds, becoming like the Most High.” Yet you, king of Babylon, will be brought down to hell—to the depths of the pit.

“ ‘Those who happen to see you will ask, ‘Is this the man that made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms? Is this the man who turned the world into a wilderness, who destroyed cities and took so many prisoners? All the kings of the nations lie in tombs among their kindred, but you are not given a grave. Your body is like the remains of those killed by the sword, thrown into a gravel pit after being trampled. You will not even be buried with those slaughtered in battle because you have destroyed your land and have killed your people.’

“If his children were to survive, they would also be evil-doers. Therefore, prepare to destroy the children of the king of Babylon because of their father’s sinfulness. Do not let them rise up again to possess the land or to fill the world with cities. ‘For I will rise up against them,’ says the Lord of Hosts, ‘cutting off Babylon’s name and descendants. I will destroy its people and turn it into a swamp, sweeping it with the broom of destruction.’

“The Lord of Hosts reaffirms, ‘Surely as I have foreseen and planned it, so will all this come to pass. I will call the Assyrian king (the Antichrist) into my land, and in my nation tread him under foot. Then his yoke and burden will be taken off my people’s shoulders.’

“This is the plan for the whole earth. This is the hand stretched out over all nations. Since the Lord of Hosts has declared this to be, who will dispute? The Lord’s hand is stretched out, and who will turn it away?”

In the year that king Ahaz died came this prophecy:

“Do not rejoice in victory just yet, you Philistine descendants (Palestinians), now that King Ahaz, the Jewish leader, is dead. His descendant will be as a fiery flying serpent (as a seraph—a powerful servant of the Lord). “The Lord says, ‘I will protect the first-born. Their poor and needy will be fed, resting in safety. But I will kill your people in Palestine with a drought. Then he will kill your survivors.

“ ‘Then moan and cry in your city, you enemies of Judah, you Palestinians, when you are completely dissolved, for a pillar of smoke will come from the north, and none will survive beyond their designated time to die.’

“After this destruction, what will then be the message to the nations? That the Lord has founded Zion, in which the poor of His people will trust.”