I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Isaiah 13-16.

    I was reading Isaiah’s prophecy about the fall of Babylon, a kingdom which had not yet risen to power when Isaiah prophesied, when it struck me that this prophecy resembles World War II and its outcomes. In declaring the fall of Babylon, Isaiah states that God will punish the world for its evil, not just Babylon. Then later, in Chapter 14, Isaiah declares that the nations of the world will help Israel return to its land. During World War II all of the nations of the world suffered the ravages of war to one degree or another. Then after the war, the nations of the world joined together to create the modern nation of Israel.

    I do not mean to say, exactly, that Isaiah was prophesying about World War II. Rather, I am pointing out that Isaiah’s prophecy about Babylon contains warnings beyond just that event. When any nation rises up and its people believe that their power will allow them to defy God, God will bring judgment against them. Why did the entire world suffer with the fall of Babylon? Because, in some ways, the leaders of the rest of the world were complicit in Babylon’s sins. I do not know the details regarding Babylon, but let us look at World War II. The leaders of most of the world knew what the Nazis were doing in Germany, perhaps not the death chambers, but certainly the ostracizing of the Jews and other groups which led to them. Those leaders approved and admired Germany for this. It was not just the leaders either. Many of the people of the nations also admired and approved of what Germany was doing (again, not the death chambers, just the actions which were precursors to them). When the people of the world begin to approve of the dehumanization of certain groups, it is only a matter of time until God pours out His judgment on the earth, and it will not be long.