“For thus the Lord said to me: “Go, set a watchman; let him announce what he sees. When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently.” Then he who saw cried out: “Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord, continually by day, and at my post I am stationed whole nights.” Isaiah 21:6-8 ESV
Reflection: should we, and how can we be on the lookout for fulfillment of prophecies in our days?
It is not difficult to find people who claim they understand and can unravel various prophecies of the Bible. And if you listen to a few of them, you will hear very different interpretations and applications of the same prophecies. How is that possible? And who is right? And, should we even be trying to interpret prophecies? And, what about the ones calling themselves current day prophets, is that even scriptural?
In the focus verses today, the Lord told Isaiah to designate someone to be a “watchman”. Why? To validate the fulfillment of the word of the Lord, that His word is true and faithful. But notice here the Lord specifically told Isaiah what this watchman should be on the lookout for, saying “When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, let him listen diligently, very diligently.” In addition to the horsemen which might indicate armies, the symbolism of donkeys and camels might represent certain kingdoms like the Persians and Medes at the time of Isaiah. But, let’s read the following verse for more context. “And behold, here come riders, horsemen in pairs!” And he answered, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods he has shattered to the ground.””Isaiah 21:9 ESV. We would immediately assume this is referring to the ancient city of Babylon, right?
But, if we look all the way in the end of the Bible, we see a similar image John saw about the end times, recorded in the book of Revelation. Let’s read. “After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.” Revelation 18:1-2 ESV. John obviously was familiar with and had studied the prophecy in Isaiah. So, was it not fulfilled with the destruction of the city of Babylon?
We see two parallel, similar prophecies here regarding Babylon, from the books of Isaiah and Revelation. So if Isaiah referred to the destruction of the physical city of Babylon, what did John see? The imagery that John wrote about is not a physical city, but even a more powerful structure than the ancient Babylon city. We understand therefore that Babylon has a much deeper, much larger meaning in scripture, starting from ancient times, but lasting to the present and even into the future. In a way representing idol worship, false religions. We see in the previous chapter in revelations that this Babylon is being referred to as a mystery, “And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.””Revelation 17:5 ESV. So what is this “mystery Babylon”?
God has spoken to people, nations and rulers, through the law and through the prophets, since the beginning of time, to help us understand the unseen. Some may claim there is no prophecy any longer, that what the Bible says is the last word from God. But we read the following from Paul, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV.
Paul is clearly saying that prophecy is a gift of the Spirit, which means it is still being provided, as the Spirit wants. Just like the other Spiritual gifts. So, can we find “false prophecy” and “false interpretation”? No doubt, just as we can find false wisdom, knowledge, discernment, and so on. We must not be naive or ignorant to the fact that many people do have agendas, whether it is for gaining relevance or fame, for money, or even for power. We therefore need to “test the spirits”, as John wrote “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1 ESV. All new prophecy and interpretations, even when they come from well-known people, from those who speak confidently, claiming they speak with spiritual authority must be aligned with the holistic character of God, of His written word; not taken in isolation.
Since God told Isaiah to set up a watchman then to see and announce the fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the ancient Babylon, perhaps we too should pay attention and announce what is happening in our days, including this mystery Babylon?
