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Expanded Comments | Additional Comments |
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| 1 The oracle on Babylon,–of which Isaiah, son of Amoz, had vision:– |
Burden of Babylon – The doom of Babylon. HG714:3
Mystic Babylon, Christendom. D26
Verses 1 to 13 are a description of the time of trouble. R5735:4
The extravagant language used in respect to the fall of Babylon was made extravagant because the divine testimony had reference to mystic Babylon more particularly than to literal Babylon. R2372:5; HG64:1; HG520:5
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| 2 Upon a bare mountain, lift ye up a standard, Raise high the voice, to them, Wave the hand, That they may enter the doors of nobles. |
Lift ye up a banner – The standard of the gospel of truth, divested of the traditional errors that have long beclouded it. D40
Upon the high mountain – Among those who constitute the true embryo Kingdom of God. D40
Exalt the voice – Earnestly and widely proclaim this truth. D41
Unto them – The bewildered sheep of the Lord's flock who are still in Babylon. D41
Shake the hand – Motion with the hand--let them see the power of the truth exemplified, as well as hear its proclamation. D41
That they – The true sheep. D41
Go into the gates – Realize the blessings of the truly consecrated. D41
Of the nobles – The heirs of the heavenly Kingdom. D41
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Exalt the voice – The voice of our Returned Lord, the voice of Present Truth. See Isa. 52:8 |
| 3 I myself, have given charge to my hallowed ones,–Yea I have called, My heroes in showing mine anger, My proudly, exulting ones. |
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| 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, A resemblance of many people,–The noise of a tumult of kingdoms, Nations gathered together, Yahweh of hosts, mustering a host for battle! |
Of a multitude – Of a tumult. D21
In the mountains – Kingdoms. B146
A great people – Contending for real and fancied rights and liberties. B146
A tumultuous noise – "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout." (1 Thess. 4:16) B145, B147
Mustereth – He gathers the nations and assembles the kingdoms to pour upon them his indignation, even all his fierce anger. (Zeph. 3:8) D528
Host of the battle – Hosts of the time of trouble. A324; B146; D528
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In the mountains – In the Kingdoms (of Christendom.)
The kingdoms of nations gathered together – Joel 3:2
The LORD hosts mustereth the hosts for the battle – "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Rev. 16:16 |
| 5 They are coming in, From a land far away, From the utmost bound of the heavens,–Yahweh–with his weapons of indignation, To destroy the land. |
To destroy – Nevertheless his judgment will be for the world's deliverance; for he wounds to heal. R1869:3
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| 6 Howl ye! for at hand, is the day of Yahweh,–As a veritable destruction from the Almighty, shall it come. |
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| 7 For this cause–All hands, shall hang down,–and, Every mortal heart, melt. |
Every man's heart – Every mortal's heart. D21
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| 8 And they shall be in distress–Writhings and pains, shall lay hold, As a woman in childbirth, shall they be in pangs,–Every one, at his neighbour, shall look in amazement, Faces of flames, their faces! |
Be amazed one at another – Wonder every man at his neighbor. D21
Shall be as flames – Red like flames shall their faces glow. D21
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| 9 Lo! the day of Yahweh, coming in, Fierce and overflowing, and burning with anger,–To devote the earth to desolation, And her sinners, will he destroy out of it. |
Day of the LORD – The Day of Jehovah, which will accomplish the destruction of Babylon. R1352:6
The day of judgment divides into two parts. First, a "time of trouble"; and, secondly, a morning, driving away the mists of superstition. This text is fulfilled in the first of these portions. R268:4, R34:6*
Cruel – Direful. D21
Wrath – "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." (Rom. 1:18) R350:4*
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| 10 For, the stars of the heavens, and their constellations, shall not flash forth their light,–Obscured, shall be, the sun, in his, going forth, And, the moon, shall not shed her light. |
Stars of heaven – The apostles. D591
The sun – The Gospel light, the truth, and thus, Christ. D590
And the moon – The light of the Mosaic Law. D590
Not cause her light – Symbolic of a spiritual night. R268:4, R35:1*
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| 11 And I will visit, upon the inhabited earth, calamity, And, upon the lawless, their punishment, And will quiet the arrogance of the proud, And, the loftiness of tyrants, will I lay low. |
For their evil – In aggrandizing the few, heedless of the cries of the poor and needy. D149
Of the terrible – Of the tyrants. D22
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| 12 I will cause, a man, to be more precious than, fine gold,–Even, a son of earth, than, the finest gold of Ophir. |
A man more precious – The lives of multitudes will not then be sacrificed. D149
A man's life. D45
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| 13 For this cause, the heavens, will I disturb, And, the earth, shall tremble, out of her place,–In the wrath of Yahweh of hosts, And in the day of the glow of his anger. |
Shake the heavens – The powers of spiritual control. A318
And the earth – The present organization of society. C229; A323; D46
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| 14 And it shall be–Like a gazelle that is chased, And like a sheep with none, to lift it up,–Each, to his own people, will they turn, And, each, to his own land, will they flee: |
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| 15 Every one found, shall be thrust through,–And, every one taken, shall fall by the sword; |
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| 16 And, their infants, shall be dashed to the ground, before their eyes,–Plundered, shall be, their houses, and, their wives ravished. |
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| 17 Behold me! stirring up against them, the Medes,–Who, of silver, shall take no account, And, as for gold, they shall not delight in it; |
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| 18 And, bows, shall dash the young to pieces,–And, on the fruit of the womb, will they have no pity, Over children, will, their eye, throw no shield. |
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| 19 Thus shall Babylon–The most lovely of kingdoms, The majestic beauty of the Chaldees–Become, as in the divine overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. |
And Babylon – Verses 16 to 22 evidently referring to literal Babylon. R2372:5
Symbolic of mystic Babylon. R5092:2
The glory of kingdoms – Likewise, mystical Babylon, the great ecclesaistical kingdom, is exalted to power and dominion and backed, to a considerable degree, by the kings of the earth, the civil powers. D25
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| 20 It shall not be dwelt, in for ever, Neither shall it be inhabited, from generation to generation,–Neither shall encamp there, an Arab, Nor, shepherds, fold their flocks there. |
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| 21 Then shall lie down, there, wild beasts, And filled, shall be their houses, with, owls,–Then shall inhabit there, the ostrich, And, shaggy creatures, shall dance there. |
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The wild beasts of the desert – Compare with Isa. 34:14
Doleful creatures – Doleful is Strong's 255 (used here only), taken from 253 which is translated as 'Alas.' Thus these are mourning, much like that described in Rev. 18:9-19. |
| 22 And jackals, shall answer, in their citadels, And, wild dogs, in their voluptuous palaces,–And near to come, is, her time, And, her days, shall not be delayed. |
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