Isaiah 14:4
4 That thou shalt take up [nasa'] this proverb [mashal]
against the king [melek] of Babylon [Babel], and say ['amar], How hath
the oppressor [nagas] ceased [shabath]! the golden city [madhebah]
ceased [shabath]! KJV-Interlinear
4 that you will take up this
taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased,
And how fury has ceased! NASB
Babylon is a
representation of the city of activity, an empire of human construction, the
personification of human ingenuity and achievement. It is a representation of
life without God in a secular world, centered around the acquisition of things,
of titles, of notoriety, of man impressing man.
As noted in this verse,
the golden city, or the city of gold, emphasizes the pursuit of worldly things
or wealth, absent any and all regard for God.
Babylon had many gods,
which are also representative of many beliefs, many philosophies, many human
viewpoints, all of which are false.
And here at the end of
the tribulation, after the second advent of Christ, at the beginning of the
millennial reign of Christ in God’s kingdom here on earth, a song or a parable
or a triumphant saying will erupt among those that have been delivered by
Christ, and have formed the initial population of the millennium.
That song is in regard
to the fall of Babylon.
It is not of mocking,
it is not a criticism, but a statement in the form of a question. Where are you
Babylon, the great oppressor, the city of gold, the realm that sought to seize
all in total disregard of truth and God?
And of course the
answer is spelled out in the next few verses, but the quick answer is that God
destroyed it, it was destroyed under the weight of its own evil, it is that
example of the complete embodiment of the viewpoint of the world that has
rejected God and truth. And, it’s demise indicates the one and only destiny
that is available to anything or anyone that follows its example.
