Apocalypse Explained, Vol. 6

In Isaiah:

"Hear now," O Babylon, "sitting securely, saying in thy heart, I and none like me besides; I shall not sit a widow, neither shall I know bereavement. But these two things shall come to thee in a moment, in one day, bereavement and widowhood. In their full measure they shall come upon thee, because of the multitude of thy sorceries and the full abundance of thine enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness, saying, No one seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge it hath misled thee, when thou hast said in thy heart, I and none like me besides. Therefore evil shall come upon thee which thou knowest not how to ward off, and calamity shall fall upon thee which thou shalt not be able to expiate; and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly which thou knewest not" (xlvii. 8-11).

Thus the destruction of Babylon is described not only here, but also

Again, the adulteration of good and falsification of truth by the Jews is depicted by their whoredoms in Egypt, and afterwards with the daughters of Assyria, and finally with the daughters of Babylon and with the Chaldeans

Whoredoms in Egypt mean falsification of truth by the natural man, which is effected by fallacies, appearances, and knowledges. Their whoredom with the daughters of Assyria signify falsification of truth by the rational man, which is effected by reasonings and sophistries from fallacies, appearances, and knowledges. Their whoredom with the daughters of Babylon and with the Chaldeans signifies adulteration of good and profanation of truth. [16.] When, therefore, the sons of Israel wholly departed from the statutes which were representative of the spiritual things of the church, through which they had communication with heaven, they were all given into the hands of the king of Assyria; for there was no longer with them any representative church and consequently no communication with heaven. Respecting their transgressions and their being carried away by the king of Assyria into his cities, and also into Babylon, see 2 Kings xvii. 1 to the end. The same thing happened to the Jews. When they had adulterated and profaned all the statutes, judgments, and laws that represented good and truth of faith, to the extent that there was no longer any thing of good and truth left, and when their church thus became Babylon, then not only their kings and princes and the whole people, but also all the treasures of the