All three of these records will eventually be had by each of the other three groups of the house of Israel. In doing so the Lord will establish his word in the mouth of two or more witnesses. These tribes will also be gathered to their promised lands of inheritance, and that part of the covenant of Abraham will then be fulfilled.
There is undoubtedly a dual message within these two chapters. The basic message is against the old Babylon, which existed before Isaiah’s time and became a world power under King Nebuchadnezzar after Assyria’s downfall, and after the ministry of Isaiah. Babylon became the epitome of wickedness in the ancient world, and was used by the Lord as the symbol of the wicked world when he commanded: “Go ye out from among the nations, even from Babylon, from the midst of wickedness, which is spiritual Babylon” (D&C 133:14).
The same symbolism is used in the Book of Revelation (14:8–11; chapters 17–18). Thus a greater message is given to modern-day Babylon, the wickedness of our world. It is often difficult to know which Babylon the text is referring to, and it may be that sometimes if refers to both at the same time. Because Nephi included these two chapters in the Book of Mormon record, it would appear that the majority of the text refers to the latter days.
Chapter 24 (Isaiah 14) contains an interesting proverb against the king of Babylon. Babylon represents the wicked world, and the king of that wickedness is none other than Satan himself. The graphic description of Satan’s fall is most interesting.
There are several significant retentions in the Book of Mormon text that aid in understanding the message.