The End Times Relevance of Isaiah 29:1-8

One of the more challenging things to do when studying Bible prophecy is determining whether a particular Bible prophecy passage has been fulfilled in the past, has dual fulfillment (past and future), or will be fulfilled solely in the future. Unsurprisingly, I often see disagreements among different commentators when reading about the fulfillment of a particular prophecy.

One example where there is disagreement among different commentators is Isaiah 29:1-8. Many Bible prophecy commentators do not identify Isaiah 29:1-8 as a passage which is relevant to the future because many assume that Isaiah 29:1-8 is a passage which concerned the defeat of Assyrian King Sennacherib’s forces by the angel of the Lord. However, I’ve notice that a few people think that the passage is relevant to the End Times.

I spent some time the past few days examining Isaiah 29:1-8 to see whether the passage has been fulfilled. After spending some time examining the passage I am ready to share my thoughts on it. Today I discuss why I think Isaiah 29:1-8 merits consideration as a passage that may have relevance to the End Times.

Before I get to Isaiah 29:1-8 specifically, I think it would be a good idea to briefly touch on the main Bible passages which describe the defeat of the Assyrian army since many people think that Isaiah 29:1-8 refers to the defeat of Sennacherib’s forces.

Sennacherib launched an offensive against Judea after Hezekiah rebelled against the Assyrians (2 Kings 18:7). Sennacherib forces defeated several fortified cities in Judea before targeting Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13 and Isaiah 36:1). After the Assyrian army arrived outside of Jerusalem, a representative from the Assyrian army tried to convince the people listening to turn against Hezekiah and to follow the king of Assyria (2 Kings 18:28-35 and Isaiah 36:13-20).

Hezekiah heard about the Assyrian army’s attempt to turn people against him and went to the temple dressed in sackcloth (2 Kings 19:1 and Isaiah 37:1). Meanwhile, Hezekiah sent servants to see the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2-5 and Isaiah 37:2-5). Isaiah provided the men with a message from God, which was recorded in 2 Kings 19:6-7 (and Isaiah 37:6-7).

• 2Ki 19:6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.
• 2Ki 19:7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

Soon after, Hezekiah received another threatening message from the Assyrians (2 Kings 19:10-14 and Isaiah 37:10-14). Hezekiah then went to the temple and prayed; asking the Lord to save them from Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:15-19 and Isaiah 37:15-20). After Hezekiah prayed, Isaiah came to Hezekiah to deliver a message from the Lord (2 Kings 19:20-34 and Isaiah 37:21-35). Concerning Sennacherib, the Lord promised Hezekiah that Sennacherib (and his forces) would not be allowed to enter Jerusalem or allowed to attack the city:

Isa 37:33 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it. Isa 37:34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. Isa 37:35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

2Ki 19:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. 2Ki 19:33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD. 2Ki 19:34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

Keep the promise that Sennacherib would not be allowed to enter Jerusalem or attack Jerusalem in mind because it will be relevant when discussing Isaiah 29:1-8.

After the Lord made Hezekiah a promise, the angel of the Lord smote 185,000 Assyrian troops. The Assyrian army’s defeat is recorded in Isaiah 37:36 and 2 Kings 19:35:

Isa 37:36 Then the angel of the LORD went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

2Ki 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

Isaiah 29 begins with a woe against Ariel, which many Bible commentators believe is a name for the city of Jerusalem. The Lord suggests that an army will surround the city and lay siege against the city in verse 3.

• Isa 29:1 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.
• Isa 29:2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel.
• Isa 29:3 And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

The statement that the army will lay siege against the city distinguishes Isaiah 29:3 from the verses concerning the promise the Lord made to Hezekiah.

• The Lord promised Hezekiah that Sennacherib would not be allowed to “cast a bank against” Jerusalem. This means that Sennacherib’s forces would not be allowed to build a siege mound that his forces could use to begin the process of battering the city.
• In contrast, the Lord would allow this army to construct the structures necessary to lay siege and allow this army to lay siege.

The distinction between Isaiah 29:3 and the verses concerning the promise the Lord made to Hezekiah is one reason why I think Isaiah 29:1-8 merits consideration as a passage that may have relevance to the End Times

Another reason why I think Isaiah 29:1-8 merits consideration as a passage that may have relevance to the End Times is the language found in verse 4. First, Isaiah 29:4 suggests that the city will be “brought down”.

• Isa 29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

The Hebrew term for “brought down” is shâphêl, which means “to depress or sink” (especially figurative to humiliate, intransitively or transitively).[1] The use of the term in context of a siege on a city suggests to me that the city described in Isaiah 29 has been attacked by the army that surrounded it, which consequently makes Isaiah 29:4 unrelated to the verses concerning the promise the Lord made to Hezekiah.

Second, some of the language in Isaiah 29:4 is reminiscent of what is found in Isaiah 51:23, a verse which I’ve identified as a verse relevant to End Times Jerusalem, and Isaiah 52:2, a verse which I believe also has relevance to End Times Jerusalem.

• Isaiah 51:23 mentions that Jerusalem is on the ground vis-à-vis its attackers. Isaiah 29:4 says that the city will speak out of the ground.
• The Lord calls for Jerusalem to shake off the dust on it in Isaiah 52:2. Isaiah 29:4 suggests that the city’s “speech shall be low out of the dust”.

Isa 29:4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

Isa 51:23 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.

Isa 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isa 52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

Given that Isaiah 29:4 is unrelated to the verses concerning the promise the Lord made to Hezekiah and the similarity between some of the language in Isaiah 29:4 and verses which are related to the End Times Jerusalem, Isaiah 29:4 (along with Isaiah 29:1-8) should merit some consideration as a verse that may have relevance to the End Times.

Another reason why I think Isaiah 29:1-8 merits consideration as a passage that may have relevance to the End Times is that the attackers in Isaiah 29:1-8 appear to be distinct from the attackers of Hezekiah’s day. Isaiah 29:1-8 identifies the city’s attackers as the nations instead of the Assyrian army:

• Isa 29:5 Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly.

…

• Isa 29:7 And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

One could argue that these verses could be talking about the Assyrian army and its allies, but the verses concerning Hezekiah’s day mentioned explicitly that the Assyrian army was defeated.

There are two other considerations which I think further strengthens the case that Isaiah 29:1-8 merits consideration as a passage that may have relevance to the End Times.

1. There is a parallel between Isaiah 29:5-8 and Isaiah 17:12-14, which some Bible commentators believe is a passage that is relevant to the End Times.
2. There is similarity between Isaiah 29:6 and Isaiah 30:30. I believe that Isaiah 30:30 is a verse that is relevant to the End Times as it is part of a passage which includes the statement in Isaiah 30:19 that the inhabitants of Jerusalem “shalt weep no more”.

If Isaiah 29:1-8 is a passage which is relevant to the End Times, it most likely relates to Zechariah 12:2 and Ezekiel chapter 7. Isaiah 29:1-4 would relate to Zechariah 12:2 and Ezekiel chapter 7 in the idea that Jerusalem would be besieged. Isaiah 29:5-8 would relate particularly to Zechariah 12:2 in the idea that Jerusalem’s attackers would eventually be defeated.

I hope today's article was useful in any way. I think there are several more Bible prophecy passages that Bible prophecy commentators are overlooking. Identifying these passages will be important in making sure we have not overlooked details that may impact our understanding of the End Times.

Reference

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[1] H8213 shâphêl Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries