Isaiah 47

Babylon

v1. "Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate.
v2. Take the millstones, and grind meal: (like a servant - for God wants a servant) uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, (heb: pull back thy veil), uncover the thigh, (heb: tuck up thy train) pass over the rivers.(heb: wade through streams)
v3. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. (desiring you)
v4. As for our redeemer, the LORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.(You are not our redeemer)
v5. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, (heb: get into the shadows) O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms.
v6. I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; (heb: no compassion) upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.
v7. And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.
v8. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, (heb: thou lady of pleasure) that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children:
v9. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.
v10. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: (you have egnored the sins that have crept up on you). Thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me.
v11. Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
v12. Stand now with thine enchantments, (heb: take thy stand against thine enchantments) and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail.
v13. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
v14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
v15 Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter (heb: home); none shall save thee."

‘Babylon’ is not a church that we can see with our eyes, but is a spirit that can come on any church, or individual.

The ground that allows this spirit to take over is pride. It usually comes after a great time of blessing by God, where the church has fallen into pride in itself and in its own ability.
The signs of the Babylon spirit, shown in this chapter, are clearly shown in some churches, (or individuals) that are controlled by it,
in the way she thinks of herself,
in the way God thinks of her, and
in the way God acts to cure the problem.

If a godly person joins the Church which has this spirit he/she will probably sense that something is seriously wrong but will probably not able to do anything to change it. None shall save the desolation that shall come upon her, except the church itself...through repentance. But, if repentance does not happen, God will bring the church (or individual) down into the dust, and then resurrect it, very shaken, and suffering from shock.

If you think that a church fits this category, you can watch for the signs.

She thinks of herself as
  1. On a throne looking down (v1)
  2. Tender and delicate before God (v1)
  3. A lady of kingdoms. (v5)
  4. A lady forever (v7)
  5. A redeemer (v4) I am and none else besides me. (v10) The Chosen Church.
    6.

God sees her as
  1. Given to pleasures. (v8)
  2. Dwelling carelessly (v8)
  3. Blind to the fact that she is sitting as a widow who loses her children. (v8)
  4. Labours after sorceries and enchantments. (v9) (v12)
  5. Having wisdom and knowledge but with wrong motives. (v10)
  6. A virgin (but to Babylon) (v1)
  7. One who shows no mercy (v6)
  8. Lays a heavy yoke on old people. (V6)
  9. Does not lay the things of God to her heart. She wants to do her own thing.
  10. Daughter of the Chaldeans (The people of Babylon)
  11. Consulted by Kings.
    12.

God’s Action.
  1. He commands her to sit in the dust and begin again. (Gen 2v7)
  2. Grind meal like the poorest female slave. (Join the real Church who is the servant of all)(v2)
  3. Show her real self (v2) (be ridiculed by the world).
  4. Commands her to pass over the rivers.
  5. He meets her not as a lover but as a ruler and judge.
  6. He takes away her self-made titles.
  7. He commands her to sit silent and get into the darkness.
  8. He makes her a widow who loses children. (the church members leave).
  9. Evil comes upon her and she does not know where it comes from. (v11)
  10. Mischief falls upon her and she is not able to put it off. The mischief makers are often members of the church.
  11. Desolation comes suddenly.
    12.

The desire of God is first – for repentance. Once this has been accomplished then Jerusalem descends and Babylon is thrown down.

Babylon is not the religion of Islam because this passage is not about another religion. Christians should accept that God is speaking about the spiritual, (not physical). 'The Church of Babylon' is mentioned several times in the Bible, but there is not a Church actually in Babylon. The Church of Rome is hardly mentioned at all in the Bible. Why is it thought of as such a monster ? Could it be blind predudice ?

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