Isaiah 13-14, 22, 24-30, 35

<p>Isaiah 13:2&ndash;5, an introduction to Isaiah&rsquo;s prophecy against Babylon (13:1, 6&ndash;22), has two fulfilments&mdash;ancient Babylon and its inhabitants will be devastated; wickedness and worldliness in the last days (called &ldquo;spiritual Babylon&rdquo;) will be destroyed at the Lord&rsquo;s Second Coming. The Lord commands His &ldquo;sanctified ones&rdquo; to symbolically: (1) raise a banner on a mountain, (2) call out with loud voices, and (3) wave the hand as a signal. Some terms in this section refer to a battle&mdash;&ldquo;mighty ones,&rdquo; &ldquo;mustering the host for the battle,&rdquo; &ldquo;weapons,&rdquo; &ldquo;destroy,&rdquo; and so forth. But the terms refer to the great spiritual battle between the Lord&rsquo;s people and the forces of evil. The scriptures, in fact, refer to the Lord&rsquo;s church as an &ldquo;army&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;the coming forth of my church out of the wilderness&mdash;clear as the moon, and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners&rdquo; (Doctrine and Covenants 5:14; 105:30&ndash;31; 109:73). Note also that several passages in the Doctrine and Covenants utilize military language when referring to God&rsquo;s covenant people, for example, &ldquo;Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit; And <em>their arm shall be my arm</em>, and I will be their <em>shield</em> and their <em>buckler</em>; and I will <em>gird up their loins</em>, and they shall <em>fight manfully</em> for me; and their <em>enemies shall be under their feet</em>; and I will let fall the <em>sword</em> in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them&rdquo; (Doctrine and Covenants 35:13&ndash;14; emphasis added; see also 133:58&ndash;59).</p> <h3>Isaiah 13:1</h3> <p><em>Prophecy against</em>. The Hebrew <em>masa&rsquo;</em> (translated here as &ldquo;prophecy against&rdquo;) introduces a prophetic judgment against a people or nation (for other examples, see 14:28, 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1; 21:11, 13; 22:1; 23:1; 30:6). <em>Isaiah</em> .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. <em>saw</em>. The Hebrew verb here (<em>chzh</em>) means &ldquo;see in a vision; Isaiah saw in vision many of the things that are written in his book. <em>Babylon</em>. This term refers to an ancient city in Mesopotamia, but Babylon is also a symbol of the world and wickedness: &ldquo;Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon&rdquo; (Doctrine and Covenants 133:14).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Donald W. Parry<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p><em>My sanctified ones</em>/<em>My mighty ones</em>. God uses these affirmative expressions to refer to His Saints. &ldquo;My&rdquo; indicates that they belong to Him. &ldquo;Sanctified ones&rdquo; speaks of temple worshippers, or, the pure in heart. &ldquo;Mighty ones&rdquo; refers to those with spiritual power as well as the priesthood power with which His Saints conduct the gathering, order His ordinances, and more. <em>[is not upon]</em> (= JST, 2 Nephi 23:3).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Donald W. Parry<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p><em>men scarcer</em> .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. <em>pure gold of Ophir</em>. Gold from Ophir (1 Kings 9:28; 22:48; Job 28:16) was particularly prized because it was the highest grade. After the Almighty&rsquo;s destruction (13:6) of humans, people will be scarcer than pure gold.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Donald W. Parry<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p><em>ostriches .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. jackals</em>. The exact identification of some of these animals is uncertain.</p> <h3>Isaiah 13:22</h3> <p><em>I will be merciful unto my people</em>. In contrast to the destruction of the wicked, the Lord promises mercy to His people. <em>the day of the Lord</em>. This phrase often refers to the events associated with the last days and Jesus Christ&rsquo;s Second Coming. [For I destroy .&nbsp;.&nbsp;. will perish] = JST, 2 Nephi 23:22.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Author:</strong> Donald W. Parry<br /><strong>General Editor:</strong> Taylor Halverson<br /><strong>Associate Editor:</strong> Morgan Tanner<br /><strong>Senior Editor:</strong> Sarah Whitney Johnson<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Sam Lofgran<br /><strong>Assistant Editor:</strong> Verlanne Johnson</p>

<p>Jasmin Gimenez Rappleye, &ldquo;Isaiah&rsquo;s Fulfilled Prophecy about Babylon&rsquo;s Destruction in Isaiah 13 (Come, Follow Me: Isaiah 13-35),&rdquo; Book of Mormon Central Video, 2022.</p>