The Sudden, Catastrophic
End of The Oppressor
8O
pleasure-mad kingdom, living at ease, bragging as the greatest in the
world—listen to the sentence of my court upon your sins. You say, “I alone am
God! I will never be a widow; I will never lose my children.” 9Well,
those two things shall come upon you in one moment, in full measure in one day:
widowhood and the loss of your children, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
10You felt secure in all your wickedness. “No one sees me,” you said. Your “wisdom” and “knowledge” have caused you to turn away from me and claim that you yourself are Jehovah. 11That is why disaster shall overtake you suddenly—so suddenly that you will not know where it comes from. And there will be no atonement then to cleanse away your sins.[1] (Isaiah 47:8–11)
The Oppressor’s False Security Would Be Lost—Suddenly
The end of the oppressor would be sudden, catastrophic. In one night’s, time, the city of Babylon would be conquered by Darius, the king of the Medo-Persian Empire (Da. 5:1–31, esp. 30–31). Furthermore, the conquest would happen without a battle.
The Oppressor Would Lose Family & All Hope for The
Future
The Babylonian’s misplaced security would collapse and be lost in one day. What the people had formerly thought impossible would take place, both the loss of children and women becoming widows. Within a single night, the citizens of Babylon would lose their families and all hope for the future.
The Oppressor Would Lose All Despite Their Trust in
Sorcery
Note where
they had placed their trust: in the world of the occult, that is, in sorcery,
enchantments, witchcraft, psychics, divinations, and astrology. But in the hour
of need, the world of the occult would fail the Babylonians, for the occult is
merely another counterfeit religion. It is a phony science that is utterly
useless in facing the terrifying enemies and hardships of life. Thus, the
oppressor’s trust in the world of the occult would collapse in their desperate
hour of need.
In addition, the oppressor’s trust in keeping his wickedness hidden and his sins out of sight would be shattered. No longer could he take comfort in the deception of hiding his evil in the dark, out of sight. He would now know that his sins were exposed and always had been.
The Oppressor’s Wickedness, Wisdom, & Knowledge
Would Mislead & Deceive Him.
The oppressor’s knowledge had misled or deceived him. Knowledge had given him a false sense of self-importance, causing him to exalt himself above others, even above God Himself. Often the oppressor felt there was no true God in the universe. No supreme being who saw and knew all and would judge all behavior. In his earthly wisdom and knowledge, he believed that the universe was eternal and self-sustaining or else that it began to appear out of nothing. Considering himself wise and knowledgeable, he was misled. However, true believers must keep in mind that a person usually denies the Lord to continue with his life of wickedness, doing as he wishes and desires. By rejecting God and His Word, he can live as he wishes without any restraint. Sadly, this same pattern of behavior that was characteristic of the Babylonians has been a trait of many people and societies down through the centuries.
The Oppressor’s End Would Be Disastrous:
An unforeseen calamity or catastrophe would suddenly
fall upon him.
Nevertheless, despite the self-deception of the oppressors, their end would be a disaster (v. 11). Isaiah predicted that an unforeseen calamity would suddenly fall upon Babylon. And the mighty metropolis would not be able to stop the catastrophic events. The disaster would be unexpected and take place suddenly. As pointed out above, the Median king, Darius, launched a surprise attack and conquered the capital in one night. Yet God’s prophecy of destruction would not take place until the second century B.C. Secular history tells us that this mightiest capital of the ancient world was destroyed when the Parthians conquered the metropolis.
The sudden and unexpected destruction that fell upon Babylon is a picture of what will fall upon all the wicked of the earth in the last days. All who have denied and turned away from the signs, the warnings, the Christian witnesses, and the promptings of the Lord will meet with a sudden and tragic end.
V “For then [in the last days] shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no
flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake, those days shall be shortened. Then
if any man shall say unto you, Lo here is
Christ, or there; believe it not. For
there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs
and wonders; insomuch that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret
chambers; believe it not. For as the
lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so, shall
also the coming of the Son of man be” (Mt. 24:21–27).
V “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but
my Father only. But as the days of Noe were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were
before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the
flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be” (Mt. 24:36–39).
V “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves
like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding;
that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when
he cometh shall find watching verily I say unto you, that he shall gird
himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And
this know; that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would
come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken
through. Be ye, therefore, ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour
when ye think not” (Lu. 12:35–40).
V “But of the times and the seasons, brethren,
ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the
day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say,
Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a
woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Th. 5:1–3).
V “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Re. 16:15).[2]
[1]
Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible,
Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
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