Isaiah 13:19
19 And Babylon [Babel], the glory [tsabiy] of kingdoms [mamlakah], the
beauty [tiph'arah] of the Chaldees [Kasdiy]' excellency [ga'own], shall
be as when God ['elohiym] overthrew [mahpekah] Sodom [Cadom] and Gomorrah [`Amorah]. KJV-Interlinear
19 And Babylon, the beauty of
kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew
Sodom and Gomorrah. NASB
Back in Abraham’s day, the
Dead Sea did not exist, as it was a great river valley through which the Jordan
River flowed, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah along with other cities of
that valley, existed.
Recall from the story
in Genesis how Abraham and Lot separated, where Abraham remained in the hill
country to the west, and Lot chose to move to the green rich valley where those
cities existed.
When the Sodom and
Gomorrah were destroyed, the entire geography of that valley changed. At some
point in time, over time, in history following that destruction, enough
earthquakes and natural disasters and such things occurred, resulting in the
present day Dead Sea.
Today the surface of
the Dead Sea is the lowest point or the lowest elevation on the planet, at
approximately 1400 feet or 400 meters below sea level, and its depth is still
another 1200 feet or 400 meters deep. So, from sea level the bottom of the Dead
Sea is about 2400 feet or 800 meters below sea level.
The present-day Jordan
River flows out of the north into the Sea of Galilee, and continues on in a
southward direction emptying into the Dead Sea.
Sodom and Gomorrah and
all the cities of that plain, were completely destroyed and virtually removed
from history as though they never existed. All that remains of them comes from
the story in Genesis.
Babylon in its day, was
said to be magnificent in its gardens, in its architecture, in its literature,
in its arts, and was the center of great wealth and beauty.
However, in short
order, in those final days of history the magnificence and beauty of Babylon,
as it will be representative of the world at large in those final days, is
going to be thoroughly and totally and quickly destroyed, and so too along with
it, all of the glories and magnificence of the world at large will be
destroyed.
And just as Sodom and
Gomorrah were totally removed, so too nothing of man’s evil world will survive
the end of the world, and will not enter into or become a part of, God’s
kingdom here on earth.
The universe was create
perfect. Satan and sin brought
destruction.
The earth was restored to
its perfect state, but Adam and Eve and sin brought destruction.
In those final days,
all of the chaos and evil of the world will be removed and Gods kingdom will exist
in a perfect state.
