NT Text: Revelation 18:2
OT Source(s):
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Analogy
Significance: Isaiah 13:21 describes the predicted desolation of Babylon: "wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; ostriches will dwell there, and wild goats will dance there." The Hebrew terms (siyyim, ochim, se'irim) have demonic overtones — se'irim can mean "hairy ones" or "demons." Revelation 18:2 echoes this language: "She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast." John interprets Isaiah's prediction through its demonic connotations, making explicit what was implicit in the Hebrew. The allusion demonstrates that the fall of eschatological Babylon fulfills the pattern established in Isaiah's oracle against historical Babylon — the proud city becomes a demon-haunted wasteland.