“In that wonderful day when the Lord gives his people rest from sorrow and fear, from slavery and chains, you will taunt the king of Babylon. You will say, “The mighty man has been destroyed. Yes, your insolence is ended.
“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.’ Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.”
Isaiah 14:3-4, 12-15 NLT
The verses between 8 and 12 of Isaiah 14 describe the arrival of the king of Babylon in the place of the dead, where he is greeted by “the spirits of world leaders and mighty kings long dead”. There, in the place of the dead, the king will find “maggots are your sheet and worms your blanket”, a graphic illustration describing life for a spirit in hell. Jesus Himself was horrified by the thought of hell, “where the maggots never die, and the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:48), a quotation from Isaiah 66:24.
But then we read Isaiah 14:12, “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning!” This has two meanings: the first is that it refers to the king of Babylon, who represented the whole nation of Assyria. Through his pride and arrogance, he even dared to make statements and claims such as “I will ascend to Heaven” and “I will … be like the Most High”. Can we ever believe such arrogance? But the king of Babylon was not unique, making claims no one else did. Throughout Scripture, we notice that Babylon became more than merely an ancient city or empire. “Babylon” increasingly represents organised human pride and rebellion against God. It started, as we know, with the Tower of Babel, in Genesis 11:4, where we read, “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth’”. “Make a name for ourselves” in the context of tower building was the first tentative steps in the development of human pride. The association of the names “Babel” and “Babylon” is significant.
So we read the natural progression of pride and arrogance with the king of Babylon, buoyed by his battlefield successes and the expansion of his empire, thought he was unstoppable, even to the extent of claiming “I will … be like the Most High”. However, this was the end of his ascent into high places, because, in Isaiah’s prophecy, the Lord said, “Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths”. The end of the king of Babylon, consigned to hell and association with maggots and worms, followed.
The second meaning of Isaiah 14:12 can be found in the NKJV version, “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!” This name, derived from the original Hebrew, means “morning star” or “light bearer” and has been associated with Satan, of whom we read more in Ezekiel 28. The same spirit of self-exaltation and rebellion that was behind the devil was behind the king of Babylon and has been behind many world rulers and others ever since.
The final fate of “Babylon” and everything associated with it can be found in Revelation 18:1-2, “After all this, I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendour. He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen!. Reading on in Revelation 18 provides a fascinating account of the demise of the world system, the very end of capitalism and all the excesses and problems that it has brought.
From one end of the Bible to the other, we see the sin of man demonstrated. The claim “we will make a name for ourselves” in Genesis 11, the arrogance of “I will … be like the Most High” in Isaiah 14, and the Fall of Babylon in Revelation 18. We pilgrims, in the End Times, may yet see the fruition of these Biblical events and prophecies.
But can we pilgrims glean any principles and helpful thoughts from our verses today. One thing that dominates human sin is two simple words – “I will”. So much of what we do is dominated by these two words, and there was even a popular song, “I’ll do it my way”, written about them. But the challenge for pilgrims everywhere lies in the Lord’s Prayer – “Your will be done”. Which of these two phrases, “I will” or “Your will be done”, sums up our lives? A question to take with us as we go about our daily lives.
Dear Father God. We earnestly pray, “Your will be done” before You say to each one of us, “your will be done”, with all the consequences that it will bring for our lives after we cross the Great Divide. Please help us turn our eyes to You, the One who hates pride and arrogance, when we are tempted to go our own ways. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 