26.8. Prophecies about the Fate of the Gentile Nations

and about Jerusalem

Like other prophets, the prophet Isaiah's vengeance on sinners will take place on the Day of the Lord, which is depicted as a world catastrophe.

"Weep, for the day of the Lord is near, coming as a destructive power from the Almighty. That is why everyone's hands dropped, and everyone's heart melted. They were terrified, convulsions and pains seized them; they are tormented like a woman giving birth, they look at each other in amazement, their faces are aflame. Behold, the fierce day of the Lord comes, with wrath and burning wrath, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it. The stars of heaven and the luminaries do not give light from themselves; the sun is darkened at its rising, and the moon does not shine with its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquities, and I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and I will humble the arrogance of the oppressors; I will make men more precious than pure gold, and men more precious than the gold of Ophir. For this I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall be moved out of its place because of the wrath of the Lord of hosts, in the day of His burning wrath" (Isaiah 13:6-13).

Among the prophecies about the punishment of certain nations, the prophecy of the fall of Babylon stands out, which appears to us as an image of the fall of Satan.

"And it shall come to pass in that day, when the Lord shall make thee out of thy sorrow, and out of fear, and out of the heavy bondage to which thou wast enslaved, thou shalt utter a song of victory against the king of Babylon, saying, 'As the tormentor is gone, the robbery is stopped!<... >Hell of hell has been stirred up for your sake, to meet you at your entrance<... >Thy pride is cast down into hell with all thy noise; a worm is laid under you, and worms are your covering. How thou hast fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the dawn! He was dashed to the ground, trampling down the nations. And he said in his heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on a mountain in the assembly of gods, at the end of the north; I will ascend to the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High." But you are cast down into hell, into the depths of hell.<... >This is the decree that has been decreed for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out against all nations: for the Lord of hosts has decreed, and who can abolish it? His hand is outstretched, and who can turn it away?" (Isaiah 14: 3-4, 9, 11-15, 26-27).

In Slavonic, verse 20 reads as follows: "As a robe soaked in blood shall not be clean, so thou shalt not be clean: for thou hast destroyed My land, and hast slain My people. Thou shalt not abide in eternal time." Commenting on the above passage, St. Basil the Great says: "Here is another part of the lamentation for the prince of Babylon and for his deeds. After he who fell "from heaven Lucifer" said in his heart: "I will ascend into heaven, I will be like the Most High"; in proof of how far from being likened to the Holy One who has defiled himself with all impurity and murder, he is likened to a garment, which by its nature is made for the adornment of man, but because it is soaked in blood, it cannot be taken by man for use. From this it is evident that the evil one does not have impurity in himself because of his structure, but because he has stained himself with blood, having destroyed the land of the Lord and killed people through sin" [12, part 2, p. 319].

Continuing the prophecy about the pagan nations, the prophet is commanded to walk naked and barefoot as a sign of the coming conquest of Egypt and Ethiopia by the Assyrians. Walking naked was shameful, wild, but that's exactly what Isaiah had to do. After all, his contemporaries had more hope for allied Egypt than for God. This symbolic action was supposed to bring them to their senses. "And the inhabitants of this country shall say in that day, 'These are those in whom we trusted, and to whom we had recourse for help, to save ourselves from the king of Assyria. and how would we be saved?" (Isaiah 20:6).

Then the prophet vividly describes how Jerusalem and its inhabitants will be besieged, in vain attempts to gather weapons, to repair the breaches in the walls and to gather at least a little water to quench their thirst, they do not lift up their eyes to heaven, they do not call on "Him who has long ordained these things" (Isaiah 22:11).

"And the Lord, the Lord of hosts, calls you on this day to weep and mourn, and to cut your hair, and gird yourself with sackcloth. But behold, merriment and joy! They kill oxen, and slaughter sheep; They eat meat and drink wine: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" And the Lord of hosts opened in my ears, "This wickedness shall not be forgiven you until you die, said the Lord, the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 22:12-14).

26.9. Eschatological prophecies:

Isaiah's "great apocalypse"

Further, we are again talking about judgment (chapters 24-27). The universal scope of the sermon is again manifested in the fact that the prophet proclaims judgment not only against Samaria, not only against Jerusalem, but against all nations. Thus, Isaiah speaks of Damascus, of the Moabites, of the Philistines, of Tyre – God's action extends to all nations and to all kingdoms. This section is sometimes called the Apocalypse of Isaiah, since the prophecy of the judgment of the nations moves on to the depiction of victory over death and the devil and a universal resurrection.

Let's see in what features this court is presented. "Behold, the Lord destroys the earth and makes it barren; He changes its appearance and scatters those who dwell in it.<... >Terror and pit and noose for you, inhabitant of the earth! Then the one who flees from the cry of terror will fall into the pit; and whoever comes out of the pit will fall into the snare; for the windows from the heavenly heights will be dissolved, and the foundations of the earth will be shaken. The earth is crushed, the earth is disintegrated, the earth is greatly shaken; the earth shakes like a drunken man, and shakes like a cradle, and its iniquity weighs upon it; it will fall, and it will not get up again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall visit a host on high high, and the kings of the earth on earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners in a pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days they shall be punished. And the moon shall be red, and the sun shall be ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and glory shall be before his elders" (Isaiah 24:1, 17-23). Let us pay attention to this: many times the prophets speak of the Lord's impending enthronement in Zion. But see what events precede this: the earth shakes like a cradle, disintegrates, the exalted ones gather together, that is, the heavenly hosts and the kings of the earth in one pit, for judgment. It is clear that this enthronement, of course, is not just the coming of such a messiah-king, of whom the Jews dreamed, who will rule in the city of Jerusalem, and the pagans will bring gifts, as the prophet Isaiah further says: dust is under the feet of the Jews, etc. (Isaiah 49:23). Everything looks much scarier.