"Like a Carcass Trodden Down"

The judgment pronounced against the Babylonian dynasty provides a valuable lesson for us.  The root of the Babylonian kings' sin was their endless ambition.  (Daniel 5:23)  Their hearts were filled with a desire for power. They wanted to dominate others.  (Isaiah 47:5, 6) And they lusted after glory from men, which rightly belongs to God.  (Revelation 4:11)  This is a warning to any in authority-even in the Christian congregation.  Ambition and selfish pride are characteristics that Jehovah will not tolerate, either in individuals or in nations.

The pride of the Bablylonian rulers  was a reflection of the spirit of "the god of this system of things." Satan the Devil.  ( 2 Corinthians 4:4) He too lusts for power and longs to place himself above Jehovah God. As was the case  with the king of Babylon and the people he subjugated, Satan's unholy  ambition has resulted in misery and suffering for all mankind.

Moreover, in the book of Revelation, we read of another Babylon-"Babylon the Great."  (Revelation 18:2)  This organization, the world empire of false religion, has also shown a prideful, oppressive, and cruel spirit. As a result, she too has to face "a day of Jehovah" and be destroyed in God's due time.  (Isaiah 13:6)  Since 1919 the message has sounded around the earth:  "Babylon the Great has fallen!"  (Revelation 14:8)  When she was unable  to hold God's people in captivity, she experienced a fall.  Soon she will be completely destroyed.  Of ancient Babylon, Jehovah commanded:  "Pay back to her according to her activity.  According to all that she has done, do to her.  For it is against Jehovah that she has acted presumptuously, against the Holy One of Israel."  (Jeremiah 50:29; James 2:13)  Babylon the Great will receive a similar judgment. 

Hence, Jehovah's final statement of this prophecy in the book of Isaiah applies not only to ancient Babylon but also to Babylon the Great: "I will rise up against them . . .And I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant and progeny and posterity . . .And I will make her a possession of porcupines and reedy pools of water, and I will sweep her with the broom of annihilation."  (Isaiah 14:22)  The desolated ruins of ancient Babylon show what Jehovah will soon do to Babylon the Great.  What a comfort for lovers of true worship!  What an encouragement to strive never to allow the satanic characteristics of pride, arrogance, or cruelty to develop in us!

Next time: Jehovah's Counsel Against the Nations, Chapter Fifteen

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, 2000