Mystery Babylon
Isaiah 21 contains three prophetic oracles concerning Arabia, described in verse 1 as 'the Desert by the Sea'. The Arabian Peninsula is surrounded by sea on three sides, the Persian Gulf on the east, the Indian Ocean to the south and the Red Sea to the west. The first oracle (v1-10) describes Arabia's invasion by the Medes and Persians, corresponding to modern-day Iran. Surprisingly, when this region falls, the announcement is "‘Babylon has fallen, fallen! All the idols of her gods lie shattered on the ground” (v9)! Clearly this is not a description of the ancient city of Babylon which lay inland between two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, but not by the sea. Revelation 17-18 describes the fall of a city that is cryptically called Mystery Babylon. In Revelation 18:2 the announcement of its fall is "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!". So Isaiah 21 is an important clue that Mystery Babylon refers to a city in Arabia, not in Mesopotamia. And the announcement, "All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!" (v9) further identifies this city as a centre of religious worship. The obvious conclusion is that Isaiah 21 and Revelation 17-18 are talking about the same thing, namely an invasion of the Arabian Peninsula by Iran, followed by the sudden destruction of an Arabian city that is a centre of religious worship.
It may seem strange that the bible figuratively refers to a city in Arabia as Babylon. However, Babylon's last king, Nabonidus, extended the Babylonian empire into northern Arabia, as far south as Yathrib (modern-day Medina). In fact, he spent most of his reign in his Arabian colony in Tema (v14), known today as Tayma. He left his son Belshazzar to rule Babylon as regent (described as the king of Babylon in Daniel 5:30). Nabonidus was a worshipper of the Babylonian moon-god Sin, rather than the primary Babylonian god Marduk, and he may have preferred to live in Arabia where the worship of Sin was long-established (Exodus 16:1). Whether or not one identifies Allah as an evolved form of this moon-god, it is significant that in the 7th century AD, the crescent moon symbol of Sin was adopted as the symbol of Islam.
Verse 2 tells us, "The deceiver deceives, the destroyer destroys", and it goes on to describe the attack by Iran. The deceiver likely refers to the Antichrist, of whom Daniel 8:25 says, "By his treachery he will succeed through deceit. He will have an arrogant attitude, and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes." As we have seen, Ezekiel 38 tells us that Gog (another name for the Antichrist) is 'the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal', indicating that he is a ruler of modern-day Turkey. It also identifies Persia (Iran) as one of his allies. Psalm 120 also describes his deceitfulness, and makes a connection between Meshech (Turkey) and Kedar (Arabia). Perhaps Saudi Arabia will form an alliance with Turkey, but Turkey will deceive Saudi and make its own alliance with Iran, Saudi's arch-enemy. Saudi trusts Turkey, but Turkey betrays Saudi and gives Iran the green light to attack.
In verse 3, as Isaiah sees this vision of Iran invading Arabia, he experiences stomach cramps like a woman's labor pains. Similarly, Micah pictures the inhabitants of end-time Jerusalem like a woman screaming in the agonies of labor when Jerusalem falls to the Antichrist (Micah 4:9-10, 5:3). In Matthew 24:8, Jesus described several pre-tribulation events as the beginning of birth pains because they point to the coming fall of Jerusalem at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. In Revelation 12:1-2, Israel is portrayed metaphorically as a woman in labor, and the second coming as the arrival of her baby. So here in verse 3 we see the beginning of the 'labor metaphor' and its association with end-time events.
The identification of 'the Desert by the Sea' as the Arabian Peninsula is further confirmed by the next two oracles. The second oracle (v11-12) concerns Dumah, which is known today as Dumah Al-Jandal and is in northern Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Jordan.
Both of the first two oracles portray a watchman, watching for an approaching messenger who might bring news. In other words, the fall of these locations is anticipated, but the replies of the watchmen suggest in each case that the fulfilment of these oracles is delayed. This may imply that these oracles would have a distant fulfilment in the end-times, not a near-fulfilment in Isaiah's day. In the second oracle, someone from Seir asks the watchman for news. Seir is in southern Jordan, but Seir is also used in the bible as a synonym for Edom because the hill country of Seir, between modern-day Aqaba and the bottom of the Dead Sea, was given to the descendants of Esau (Joshua 24:4). In Ezekiel 25, the territory of Edom is seen to stretch beyond Seir, down into Arabia as far as Dedan.
The third oracle is said to concern Arabia, and it prophesies the fall of 'the splendour of Kedar'. The Dedanites who lived in western Arabia (Dedan is modern-day Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia), and those who live in Tema (modern day Tayma in Saudi Arabia), are called to provide food and water for refugees from Kedar (v15-16). In Isaiah 42:11 and Jeremiah 49:29, the people of Kedar are described as nomads of the eastern desert (Arabia) who live in tents and keep sheep and camels. As in Genesis 25:6, the Israelites thought of Arabia as being to the east, because to get there from Israel you first travelled east across the Jordan, before turning south. It is likely that Kedar represents central Arabia, as opposed to northern Arabia where Dedan and Tema were located. The people of Kedar were descended from Kedar, the second son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13). Mohammed, the so-called prophet of Islam, claimed to be descended from Ishmael, and is understood to have descended through Kedar. So Kedar may cover a wide area of Arabia, including the region of Mecca in central western Arabia. Verse 16 says, "Within exactly one year all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end". This seems to predict war in Saudi Arabia that will last one calendar year. It appears to start with an invasion by Elam and Media (Iran) (v2), and ends with the destruction of the splendour of Kedar. This most likely describes the destruction of one or more major cities in Arabia, possibly Mecca, Riyadh, Jedda, or Medina, or possibly Dubai or Abu Dhabi if we include the UAE. Given the identification of the city as a religious centre in verse 9, it most likely refers to Mecca or Medina, or both. Similarly, Revelation 17-18 prophesies the sudden catastrophic fall of the city that is cryptically called 'Mystery Babylon'.
Although this chapter contains three oracles, because they all concern the same general area of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula, it is better to understand them as three parts of the same oracle, describing a chain of events set off by the invasion of Iran. Furthermore, according to the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 1:29-30, Dumah, Tema and Kedar were three of the sons of Ishmael. So this whole chapter is a prophecy about an Iranian attack on the Ishmaelites (Arabs) of Arabia.
According to Revelation 17:1, John's vision of Mystery Babylon and its fall was revealed to him by one of the seen angels who had the seven bowls of wrath that are described in Revelation 16. This does seem to imply that Mystery Babylon's fall occurs sometime around the release of the bowl judgments. The seven trumpet judgements and seven bowl judgements occur during the Day of Wrath which begins after Christ's coming at the sixth seal.
It may seem strange that the bible figuratively refers to a city in Arabia as Babylon. However, Babylon's last king, Nabonidus, extended the Babylonian empire into northern Arabia, as far south as Yathrib (modern-day Medina). In fact, he spent most of his reign in his Arabian colony in Tema (v14), known today as Tayma. He left his son Belshazzar to rule Babylon as regent (described as the king of Babylon in Daniel 5:30). Nabonidus was a worshipper of the Babylonian moon-god Sin, rather than the primary Babylonian god Marduk, and he may have preferred to live in Arabia where the worship of Sin was long-established (Exodus 16:1). Whether or not one identifies Allah as an evolved form of this moon-god, it is significant that in the 7th century AD, the crescent moon symbol of Sin was adopted as the symbol of Islam.
Verse 2 tells us, "The deceiver deceives, the destroyer destroys", and it goes on to describe the attack by Iran. The deceiver likely refers to the Antichrist, of whom Daniel 8:25 says, "By his treachery he will succeed through deceit. He will have an arrogant attitude, and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes." As we have seen, Ezekiel 38 tells us that Gog (another name for the Antichrist) is 'the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal', indicating that he is a ruler of modern-day Turkey. It also identifies Persia (Iran) as one of his allies. Psalm 120 also describes his deceitfulness, and makes a connection between Meshech (Turkey) and Kedar (Arabia). Perhaps Saudi Arabia will form an alliance with Turkey, but Turkey will deceive Saudi and make its own alliance with Iran, Saudi's arch-enemy. Saudi trusts Turkey, but Turkey betrays Saudi and gives Iran the green light to attack.
In verse 3, as Isaiah sees this vision of Iran invading Arabia, he experiences stomach cramps like a woman's labor pains. Similarly, Micah pictures the inhabitants of end-time Jerusalem like a woman screaming in the agonies of labor when Jerusalem falls to the Antichrist (Micah 4:9-10, 5:3). In Matthew 24:8, Jesus described several pre-tribulation events as the beginning of birth pains because they point to the coming fall of Jerusalem at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. In Revelation 12:1-2, Israel is portrayed metaphorically as a woman in labor, and the second coming as the arrival of her baby. So here in verse 3 we see the beginning of the 'labor metaphor' and its association with end-time events.
The identification of 'the Desert by the Sea' as the Arabian Peninsula is further confirmed by the next two oracles. The second oracle (v11-12) concerns Dumah, which is known today as Dumah Al-Jandal and is in northern Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Jordan.
Both of the first two oracles portray a watchman, watching for an approaching messenger who might bring news. In other words, the fall of these locations is anticipated, but the replies of the watchmen suggest in each case that the fulfilment of these oracles is delayed. This may imply that these oracles would have a distant fulfilment in the end-times, not a near-fulfilment in Isaiah's day. In the second oracle, someone from Seir asks the watchman for news. Seir is in southern Jordan, but Seir is also used in the bible as a synonym for Edom because the hill country of Seir, between modern-day Aqaba and the bottom of the Dead Sea, was given to the descendants of Esau (Joshua 24:4). In Ezekiel 25, the territory of Edom is seen to stretch beyond Seir, down into Arabia as far as Dedan.
The third oracle is said to concern Arabia, and it prophesies the fall of 'the splendour of Kedar'. The Dedanites who lived in western Arabia (Dedan is modern-day Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia), and those who live in Tema (modern day Tayma in Saudi Arabia), are called to provide food and water for refugees from Kedar (v15-16). In Isaiah 42:11 and Jeremiah 49:29, the people of Kedar are described as nomads of the eastern desert (Arabia) who live in tents and keep sheep and camels. As in Genesis 25:6, the Israelites thought of Arabia as being to the east, because to get there from Israel you first travelled east across the Jordan, before turning south. It is likely that Kedar represents central Arabia, as opposed to northern Arabia where Dedan and Tema were located. The people of Kedar were descended from Kedar, the second son of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13). Mohammed, the so-called prophet of Islam, claimed to be descended from Ishmael, and is understood to have descended through Kedar. So Kedar may cover a wide area of Arabia, including the region of Mecca in central western Arabia. Verse 16 says, "Within exactly one year all the splendor of Kedar will come to an end". This seems to predict war in Saudi Arabia that will last one calendar year. It appears to start with an invasion by Elam and Media (Iran) (v2), and ends with the destruction of the splendour of Kedar. This most likely describes the destruction of one or more major cities in Arabia, possibly Mecca, Riyadh, Jedda, or Medina, or possibly Dubai or Abu Dhabi if we include the UAE. Given the identification of the city as a religious centre in verse 9, it most likely refers to Mecca or Medina, or both. Similarly, Revelation 17-18 prophesies the sudden catastrophic fall of the city that is cryptically called 'Mystery Babylon'.
Although this chapter contains three oracles, because they all concern the same general area of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula, it is better to understand them as three parts of the same oracle, describing a chain of events set off by the invasion of Iran. Furthermore, according to the genealogy of 1 Chronicles 1:29-30, Dumah, Tema and Kedar were three of the sons of Ishmael. So this whole chapter is a prophecy about an Iranian attack on the Ishmaelites (Arabs) of Arabia.
According to Revelation 17:1, John's vision of Mystery Babylon and its fall was revealed to him by one of the seen angels who had the seven bowls of wrath that are described in Revelation 16. This does seem to imply that Mystery Babylon's fall occurs sometime around the release of the bowl judgments. The seven trumpet judgements and seven bowl judgements occur during the Day of Wrath which begins after Christ's coming at the sixth seal.
