Israel’s Taunt
14:1 When the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob.
The Millennial Kingdom will be repopulated by Jews and Gentiles. Gentiles will desire to learn more about God from the Jews.
14:2 The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD as male servants and female servants; and they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors.
During the Millennial Kingdom, the Gentiles will joyously transport the Jews into Israel. The Gentiles will become possessions and servants of the Jews.
14:3 And it will be in the day when the LORD gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, 14:4 that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say,“How the oppressor has ceased, And how fury has ceased!
During the Millennial Kingdom, Israel will sing a taunting song against the King of Babylon. The King of Babylon is the Antichrist. Verses 4-21 record this prophetic song which will be sung in the future.
14:5 “The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers
Jehovah has broken the ruling staff of the Antichrist.
14:6 Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.
The Antichrist used his authority to persecute Israel and subdue the Gentile nations.
14:7 “The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; They break forth into shouts of joy.
The whole earth has never been at peace. After the Antichrist is defeated, then the Messiah will bring true peace into the world. True peace is peace with God.
14:8 “Even the cypress trees rejoice over you, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying,‘Since you were laid low, no tree cutter comes up against us.’
When the Antichrist is defeated, then the cypress trees will rejoice. Their timber will no longer be used for tribute.
14:9 “Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.
After the Antichrist dies, then his soul goes to Sheol. The inhabitants of Sheol will be excited to receive him. The inhabitants of Sheol will also be surprised to see him. All of the unsaved dead kings of the past (such as Nimrod, Sennacherib, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, etc.) will raise from their thrones to welcome the Antichrist.
14:10 “They will all respond and say to you,‘Even you have been made weak as we,You have become like us.
The Antichrist was supernaturally energized by Satan, but he still endd up in Hell with all of the other evil kings and political leaders of the past.
14:11 ‘Your pomp and the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you And worms are your covering.’
The Antichrist will walk on a carpet of worms.
14:12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn!You have been cut down to the earth,You who have weakened the nations!
The "star of the morning" is ילֵ֣ל בֶּן־שָׁ֑חַר (yalel ben-shacar), meaning shining one son of the morning. The Latin meaning is "Lucifer," meaning the light-bearer.
Satan will possess the physical body of the Antichrist during the middle of the Great Tribulation. Satan is the one who fell from heaven. During the middle of the Great Tribulation, Satan will be kicked out of heaven by Michael the Archangel. All through history, Satan has been the one spiritual being who has kept the Gentile nations weak.
14:13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.
Verses 13-14 record the five “I wills” of Satan.
First, Satan desired “to ascend to heaven.” Satan was originally the guardian of God’s Throne. He also had authority over the Mineral Garden of Eden. He was not satisfied with this very high position in which God had given him. He desired a higher position, but the only other position was God’s own Throne. With this first “I will,” Satan attempted to usurp God’s own Throne. Instead of being the one overshadowing the throne, he now wished to become the one sitting upon the throne.
Second, Satan desired “to raise his throne above the stars of God.” Stars is used all through the Bible as a symbol of angels. Satan wanted authority over the angelic army. He desired the position of Michael, the arch-angel.
Third, Satan desired “to sit upon the mount of the assembly.” This was an expression used by many of the prophets in describing the Millennial Kingdom. Satan knew that the Messiah was to eventually rule over all of the nations. Satan wanted to make himself the Messianic ruler over Israel.
14:14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
Fourth, Satan desired “to ascend above the heights of the clouds.” The word “cloud” is used symbolically throughout the Old Testament as a symbol of the Shechinah Glory. This glory belongs to God alone, but Satan desired it all for himself.
Fifth, Satan desired “to make himself like the Most High.” According to Genesis 14:18–20, God is the possessor of the heavens and the earth. Satan declared his desire to become the sole possessor of all that God created.
These five “I wills” caused the fall of Satan. One third of the angels used their freewill to follow him. Therefore, the son of the morning became Satan, the adversary. At this point, judgment came upon him.
14:15 “Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
Isaiah’s song switches back to focus on the Antichrist. The Antichrist will be thrust down to Sheol, but he will not be there very long.
14:16 “Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying,‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms,
The evil kings in Sheol will gaze at the Antichrist. They will wonder how this one man could have made such an evil dictator upon all of the earth.
14:17 Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’
These dead evil kings will wonder how the Antichrist was able to turn the entire world into a wilderness. How was he able to overthrow so many cities upon the earth? Those whom Satan held captive, Christ came to set free.
14:18 “All the kings of the nations lie in glory, Each in his own tomb.
All of these evil kings at least received honorable burials. The Antichrist did not receive an honorable burial. Everyone on earth was glad to see him go.
14:19 “But you have been cast out of your tomb Like a rejected branch, Clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit Like a trampled corpse.
Among the ancients, the deepest type of degradation was to die without a tomb. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:8, the Antichrist will become the first casualty of Armageddon. He will be thrown into hell. Quickly afterwards, he will become the first inhabitant of the Lake of Fire.
14:20 “You will not be united with them in burial, Because you have ruined your country, You have slain your people. May the offspring of evildoers not be mentioned forever.
Unlike the other dead evil kings in Sheol, the Antichrist will have no monument or posterity to keep his memory alive.
14:21 “Prepare for his sons a place of slaughter Because of the iniquity of their fathers They must not arise and take possession of the earth And fill the face of the world with cities.”
Unlike the other dead evil kings in Sheol, the Antichrist left no heir.
14:22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and survivors, offspring and posterity,” declares the LORD.
Israel will have a remnant to enter into the Millennial Kingdom, but not Babylon.
14:23 “I will also make it a possession for the hedgehog and swamps of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts.
During the Millennial Kingdom, Babylon will become a burning wasteland prison for demons.
Judgment on Assyria
14:24 The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, 14:25 to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder.
Jehovah swears by Himself, because He cannot swear by anything or anyone higher. The Assyrian is King Sennacherib. Jehovah will break him in the land of Israel. One angel would kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers as they camped themselves outside of the seized city of Jerusalem. The fulfillment of this Assyrian army destruction would be recorded in Isaiah 36-37.
14:26 “This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations.
God has a purpose for the whole earth. The enemies of Israel will be destroyed.
14:27 “For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”
There is no one who can turn back God’s sovereign plan. Even mighty Assyria cannot turn back God's plan.
14:28 In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came:
Isaiah received a new prophecy from God in 727 B.C. This was the year that King Ahaz died.
Judgment on Philistia
14:29 “Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent’s root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent.
Philistia was not a united nation under one king, but a confederation of five cities under five different kings. The five cities of the Philistine confederation were Ashkelon, Ashdad, Gaza, Ekron, and Gad. The judgment would come against all five of these cities.
The rod which struck Philistia was the House of David. When the House of David was attacked by the Assyrians, 46 cities of Judah were destroyed. Philistia rejoiced because 46 cities of the House of David had been decimated. However, Philistia should not rejoice, because she had violated the Abrahamic Covenant. Things would not get better for Philistia.
The three serpents were three future kings who would arise from the House of David. The serpent was mild. The viper was poisonous. The flying serpent was deadly. The serpent was King Ahaz, who would lose most of the territory of Judah to the Philistines. The viper was King Hezekiah, who would regain most of the territory back from the Philistines. The flying serpent is King Messiah, who will regain and occupy all of this lost territory. When King Messiah arrives at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom, then Philistia will be nonexistent.
14:30 “Those who are most helpless will eat, And the needy will lie down in security; I will destroy your root with famine, And it will kill off your survivors.
The arrival of these three kings would bring upon different results for Israel and Philistia. Israel would receive food and safety. She will enter into the Millennial Kingdom. Philistia would receive hunger and death. She will not enter into the Millennial Kingdom, because she will have no survivors.
14:31 “Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks.
Assyria would exterminate the Philistines.
14:32 “How then will one answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD has founded Zion, And the afflicted of His people will seek refuge in it.”
The Philistine ambassadors arrived in Jerusalem to make an alliance with Judah against Assyria. These Philistine ambassadors were told that their only secure refuge was to stay in Jerusalem.