Isaiah Apocalypse – Session 8 notes

OK – we’re here. The last week of this series. We’ve been through some heavy scriptures, not only for historical purposes (to see how God dealt with nations, and with His covenant people IN THE PAST) – but also so that we might understand how God deals with nations and with His covenant people ALWAYS – and how He will deal with all people as the end of this age comes upon us.

The glorious work of Calvary provided, and continues to provide, an ESCAPE ROUTE from the wrath to come to WHOSOEVER WILL.

Meanwhile we are becoming more and more aware of the state of the world, and more understanding, both by biblical text as well as by global conditions, that most people have not, and will not, turn to God. So we find ourselves, as believers, functionally SWIMMING UPSTREAM in a flow of situations that scriptures point to increasing in frequency and intensity:
1. As darkness continues to cover the land, and people become more and more resistant to light, and many in fact will actively rage against the light of the gospel; AND ALSO
2. As our kind and merciful God, not wanting any to perish, does what He said He would do: Shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land – the intent being to draw all men to the Desire of the Nations (Haggai)

Isaiah 24-34 lays out a prophetic scenario that:
A. IN PART was to be fulfilled during the upcoming siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the rest of the Southern Kingdom – with the people being violently removed to Babylon for a 70 year captivity – and it was non-negotiable; AND

B. IN PART was to be fulfilled during numerous subsequent judgments by God on His covenant people, throughout the age, as they continued to disobey Him and His commandments and resist His more gentle callings to repentance, the greatest act of disobedience and offense being the rejection of their promised Messiah; AND

C. IN FULFILLMENT – is to be fully filled, including all of the missing HHY components prior to, during, and then subsequent to, the return and appearance of Messiah, in Jerusalem, to deliver His covenant people, both Jew and Gentile.

REGARDING THE SUFFERING OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE NT – THE JEWISH RULERS SET THE TONE AND PUT IT THIS WAY:
Matt 27
24 When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.”
25 And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.

AND PETER PUT IT THIS WAY:
Acts 3:13-23
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
(Then a dialogue of mercy – declaring they did it ignorantly and in unbelief…..AND THEN THE CULMINATING VERSES that are soberly awaiting fulfillment – to the support of our position as to what still needs to occur….
…..22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. ’

(major edit here over earlier notes) That NT verse, ALONE, ought to defuse the credibility of doctrines that would simply point to, a post-Calvary “grace grace grace” sloppy and unjustified outpouring of love and acceptance – WHILE THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLD REMAINS UNREPENTANT AND DEFIANT – and in fact becomes increasingly more sinful, that sinfulness to eventually escalate to a corporate as well as personal level deserving the judgments predicted in scripture.

Additionally, this kind of understanding of the spiritual climate that will be prevalent prior to our Lord’s return, ought to help us NOT envision ourselves as simply preparing the “wedding party” – which some popular end-of-age doctrines put forth. Most of the world continues to lie in darkness, and will continue to rage against the light. The word of God tells us that. And that word been accurate so far….

It’s important for us to understand the MAGNITUDE OF ACCOUNTABILITY that is incurred in purposely denying OR disobeying the edicts of heaven – to the Jew first and then the Gentile (in fact the writer of Hebrews tells us READERS OF HEBREWS that the bar of accountability has not been LOWERED in the NT dispensation, but rather RAISED):

Hebrews 12:25-29
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,
26 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “ Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”
27 Now this, “ Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

FURTHER TO THE PERTINENCE OF ISAIAH 24-34 is its pointing to definite END-OF-AGE events, because things will indeed get wrapped up at that time, and as Jesus said in Matthew 5- “every jot and tittle of the law…” (“nomos” – used for all the prophetic writings of the OT, including the prophetic writings of the major prophets) will all be fulfilled, down to the last “jot and tittle” – the smallest punctuation mark.

I spoke several months ago about the “specificity of scripture” (its EXACTNESS). We would do well to understand and appreciate that.
EXAMPLE 1:
JESUS SAID (referring to I AM as opposed to I WAS – a confirmation of TENSE):
Matthew 22:29-32
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “ You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying,
32 “ I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

EXAMPLE 2:
And looking at Paul’s understanding of the EXACTNESS OF SCRIPTURE, he validates a point by pointing out the SINGULAR as opposed to the PLURAL:
Galatians 3:16
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “ And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “ And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

It is this kind of understanding and appreciation that will usher us into the camp of those who “tremble at the word” – and soberly look to the scriptures for our hope and our confidence and our understanding as to what still has to occur.

So the prophetic scenario laid out by Isaiah:
Applied to the faithful of his time;
Applies to NT saints;
Applies to ALL TRYING TIMES;
ESPECIALLY APPLIES TO THE FINAL TRYING TIMES, about which we have taken many anointed bunny trails – into Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Matthew, Luke, Revelation, and elsewhere. We’ve done some mileage into those eschatological (end times) books.

Mercifully, anointed Isaiah speaks not only of the judgments that have to come upon unrepentant hearts, but also, FOR OUR BENEFIT AND OUR SUCCESS, lays out a lifestyle of holiness that is acceptable to the Lord, so that the people of God, forgiven and set free from the CONTROL OF SIN, can continue to choose to align themselves w the purposes of heaven.

That successful lifestyle speaks to:
Holiness – including warring against OUR OWN idolatry
Worship – understanding and appreciating its critical significance and effect – andFaldo taking opportunity of its doorway to intimacy w God
Generosity – refusing to hoard or hunker down in some “personal survival” mode
Ongoing service to God – sowing beside all waters – being busy about the Master’s business as lights in the world
Obedience to the Spirit and Partnership w God

God has always wanted to partner w His people in the establishment and maintenance of righteousness on earth. It was THE PLAN in the GARDEN.

It was THE INTENDED PLAN that involved the separation of the NATION OF ISRAEL.
And it has been THE PLAN for the consecrated CHURCH OF GOD, both Jew and Gentile, in the NT age.

BACK TO WORSHIP FOR A MOMENT – We spent some time looking at the call to prophetic worship (Isaiah 30) and its critical impact upon the forces of evil (Assyria will come down).

BACK TO SUCCESSFUL GODLY LIVING (holiness, obedience, generosity, etc – all of this aligns perfectly w this Psalm:

Psalm 37:5-29
5 Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret — it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
16 A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

OVER THE WEEKS WE LOOKED AT THE GLOBAL NATURE OF THE WORK – clearly HHY
We saw that the work of God is definitely determined, not only upon regional nations, but upon the whole earth.
And we saw that the work will be violent and forceful, involving a BREAKING IN…

Isaiah 28:21-22
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim (BREECH, BREAK-IN),
He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon —
That He may do His work, His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.

AND WE SAW THE WARNING TO NOT TRY TO DISCOUNT THAT WORK
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.

We saw that God, in having His eye upon His covenant people, has it upon them both FOR BLESSING and also FOR ACCOUNTABILITY.

Another thing I am hoping you picked up was the overall understanding that SCRIPTURE BEST TESTIFIES OF ITSELF – and that sound doctrine will be confirmed THROUGHOUT the entire word of God.

This is a far more global matter than simply these chapters and verses, and even this subject matter. This is something for us to take into our lives as we study the entire word of God.

It will help keep us rooted and grounded in the fullness of truth, and will drastically reduce the jeopardy of latching onto a verse or a chapter and falling prey to some doctrine that cannot withstand the scrutiny of the entire word of God, nor the multi-faceted BUT ALWAYS RIGHTEOUS AND HOLY personality of God that is displayed throughout the entire word.

Back-tracking a little in Isaiah 33 and then going forward into 34 and 35 (this portion ends at 35, as chapter 36 starts addressing a real-time situation of Sennacherib coming, from Babylon to trouble Jerusalem, only to be turned away by God – but that event marked the beginning of the active troubling by Babylon that eventually would culminate in the first partial fulfillment of these prophecies).

ISA 33 (earlier my notes said 34, sorry):
GOD’S TIMING
10 “Now I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.

(interestingly, we saw in Ezek that it will not be until the end of the age that:
A. Israel will fully understand why they suffered, AND
B. The nations will fully understand why Israel suffered, and also WHY and HOW it SEEMED LIKE the false gods of the rebellious nations APPEARED TO BE stronger than the one and only true God.

Ezekiel 39:22,27-28
GENTILES KNOWING:
23 The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.
ISRAEL KNOWING:
27 When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies ’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.

BACK TO ISAIAH 33
The people, through disobedient, had set themselves up for futility (like we read in Haggai) – and they will be condemned by their own words of falsehood:
11 You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

SERIOUS TROUBLE
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.

A TESTIMONY TO THE WHOLE WORLD
13 Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

THE JUDGMENT ON THE “COVENANT HYPOCRITES”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:

THE SURVIVAL QUESTION:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

THE HOLY ANSWER (HERE IS TRUE “PREPPING”):
15 He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:

THE PROMISE
16 He will dwell on high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

CLEARLY END OF AGE –since this has not yet happened
17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.

THE CLEANSING OF THE LAND OF EVIL
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
“ Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”

THE ASSURANCE OF (FINALLY) NO MORE INVADERS (notable in that chapter 36 has Jerusalem seeing and hearing those fierce people at their city walls, so this obviously points forward in time, and definitely cannot point to any other yet-to-come troubling period, EXCEPT THE FINAL ONE, when those nations are defeated by Messiah Himself)
19 You will not see a fierce people,
A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.

THE EVENTUAL RESTORATION OF THE COVENANT PRACTICES (GRANTED, UPDATED PRACTICES)
20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; (certainly NOT pointing to a period after the upcoming captivity, nor pointing to post 70 AD destruction, where some would want to position these verses)
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.

THE PRESENCE OF MESSIAH
21 But there the majestic Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by

HIS RULE AND REIGN (HHY)
22 (For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us);

THEN 33:23-24 – MORE DISMANTLING OF THE WARRING NATIONS

GOING FORWARD
WE SAW THIS CALL TO THE NATIONS IN EZEK and ZECH – God will be calling them to Israel, for their judgment IN HIS LAND

NOW: ISA 34
1 Come near, you nations, to hear; (we know God will be getting everyone’s attention, including even calling many INTO THE LAND, for judgment there Ps 110, Ezekiel 38, Zech 14, Isa 14 -“I will break Assyria in My land…”)
And heed, you people!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.

IS GOD HAPPY RIGHT NOW? IS HE IS A GOOD MOOD TOWARDS THE DISOBEDIENT?
2 For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;

ISAIAH LOOKS TO THE CONCLUSION – they actually are ALREADY JUDGED by their activity). This is in perfect harmony w Jesus saying that condemnation was already in the world, because people chose darkness

THIS ALIGNS W THE WORDS OF OUR LORD re the people already condemned
John 3
18 “ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

ISAIAH 34:3 – SEEING FORWARD TO THE JUDGMENT OF THE WICKED NATIONS – declare it as a done deal:
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the slaughter.
3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

Gruesome and picturesque, aligning itself w the yet to be fulfilled descriptions of
Ezekiel 39:12-13
12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land.
13 Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified,” says the Lord God.

ISA 14
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
“ Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
25 That I will break the Assyrian in My land,
And on My mountains tread him underfoot.
Then his yoke shall be removed from them,
And his burden removed from their shoulders.
26 This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth,
And this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations.

THE CHALLENGE SET FORTH BOTH TO THE NATIONS and also TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD who might prefer to teach and believe an easier, “another” gospel.
27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed,
And who will annul it?
His hand is stretched out,
And who will turn it back?

BACK TO CHAPTER 34
4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

I believe this is part of the “I will shake heaven and earth” – the heaven part. I don’t see this perfectly clearly, yet I see Paul clearly telling us we are at war against principalities and powers in heavenly places – so much still has to be accomplished for there to be a thorough purging of evil.

Even the Isa 30 proclamation, that through prophetic worship “Assyria will fall”, ought to give us some insight into the magnitude of what has to SUPERNATURALLY OCCUR for holiness to prevail – and also to encourage us re the invitation to PARTNER W GOD.
The final conflict will include military struggle, but it will not be won by military struggle, and we would do well to remember that.

ISA 34 – GOD ASSURES US OF HIS OWN SUPERNATURAL PARTICIPATION AND KEY ROLE IN THIS CONCLUSIVE DRAMA
5 “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

AND GOD’S SWORD AGAINST MAN IS LIKENED TO THE SLAYING OF ANIMALS
6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It is made overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
(EDOM, southeast of Israel, is a prophetic marker for anti-Semitism and all raging against God and His people. Bozrah is a town there)

7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust saturated with fatness.”

WHAT KIND OF DAY WILL IT BE? AND WHOSE DAY IS IT? AND WHAT IS ITS REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE?
8 For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. – a good day of vindication by God Himself, for His people, who have suffered.

WILL IT BE PEACEFUL AND PRETTY?
9 Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.

THE CONCLUSION OF THAT JUDGED-LAND (Edom), AFTER ITS JUDGMENT, WILL BE A DEDICATED WILDERNESS – AND THIS SPEAKS ALSO TO THERE BEING ONGOING CONDITIONS ON PLANET EARTH – in our early days we were originally taught when Jesus returns the world would be comletely over – but Peter’s “new heaven and new earth” is best translated “RENEWED…”
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke shall ascend forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.

11 But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And He shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.

SOME MAY EVEN ATTEMPT A WORK OF RESTORATION, BUT TO NO AVAIL
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 And thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.

15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.

THE INVITATION AND ALSO THE CHALLENGE TO STUDY THE WORD OF GOD – because all of the word will be accomplished, and will be validated by the activity on the earth.
16 “ Search from the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;

THE INHABITATION BY WILD ANIMALS
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.

17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.

EDOM – representative of the anti-Semitic nature of natural man, and warring against God, and therefore incurring the curse of Gen 12:3 – “I WILL ARAR THOSE WHO QALAL YOU” – WILL NOT GO BACK TO BEING INHABITED BY MANKIND.

IT WILL REMAIN A TESTIMONY OF GOD’S JUDGMENT – just as the Dead Sea, once the most beautiful region, chosen by Lot, now currently stands as a memorial to judgment IN OUR AGE of the PAST AGE…
They (the wild and untamable beasts) shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”

Chapter 35
MEANWHIILE, GOOD STUFF TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,
And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;
2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,
Even with joy and singing.

THE BOUNDARIES OF ISRAEL SHALL BE ITS ORGINAL BOUNDARIES – instead of the evil plans of man chomping away at the borders, they will be expanded:

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
The excellency of our God.

A VERSE QUOTED IN THE NT – in case anyone requires validation of its eternal purpose and promise. It is also an encouragement for the saints looking forward to the final redemption and resolution, all the while soberly understanding what has to come upon the earth PRIOR TO such redemption and resolution….

3 Strengthen the weak hands,
And make firm the feeble knees.

WE’RE TO PURPOSELY ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER
4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,
“Be strong, do not fear!

(CRITICAL – we’re strengthened and encouraged NOT BE DENYING or IGNORING what the scriptures assure us HAS TO HAPPEN, but instead we’re strengthened and encouraged by RECOGNIZING AND EMBRACING what the scriptures assure HAS TO HAPPEN.

AT THE SAME TIME, besides encouragement, WE’RE TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THE JEOPARDY OF FAILING TO RECEIVE THAT ENCOURAGEMENT TO DITCH FEARFULNESS:

Revelation 21:6-8
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

THIS IS WHY WE WANT TO PRESS IN NOW, and LEARN NOW, so that we might lay hold of the grace sufficient to cause us to be overcomers.

I believe this is one reason why our Lord is taking us through some of the things we are going through in this PREPARATORY SEASON, so that we, HAVING DONE ALL, MIGHT STAND.

AND HERE’S WHY WE’RE TO BE ENCOURAGED:
Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
With the recompense of God;
He will come and save you.”

THIS COORDINATES PERFECTLY W THE WRITER OF HEBREWS, as he goes about to encourages his readers (including us) and also quotes Habakkuk:

Hebrews 10:35-39
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 “ For yet a little while,
And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

ISA 35
(I SO LOVE THAT GOD HAS CONTINUALLY RESPONDED TO THE PRAYERS OF HIS PEOPLE FOR HEALING, EVEN PRIOR TO THIS PROMISE – because we have seen outbreaks of healing and supernatural miracles throughout these past 2,000 years. BUT WE SURE NEED MORE, and THANKFULLY, we are assured that eventually, upon His return, WE SEE WHOLESALE HEALING!)
5 Then (AT THIS TIME – and as modeled by the amazing full-healing ministry of Jesus during His first advent)
the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.

HEALING OF THE CREATION – Remember, it is groaning along w us
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.

7 The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8 A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.

INTERESTING – and in support of the “Resistors Theory” we discussed last week (some not yet fully sanctified, or maybe not yet walking in Kingdom truths, and yet mercifully not destroyed w the wicked at our Lord’s appearance…). Remember, we looked at the verses in Zechariah 14 where God, after the return of Messiah and the calling of all surviving nations to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, is still dealing w defiant people who will not attend – they will suffer drought and even disease.

Zechariah 14:16-19
16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain.
18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

ISA 35
THE HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.

ALMOST AN EDEN-LIKE PEACE UPON EARTH
9 No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
But the redeemed shall walk there,

10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
(WORSHIP STILL – no longer needed for prophetic warfare, but instead fully ministering to the Lord for His goodness – He’s seeking those who will worship Him – remember: we looked at the temptation of our Lord by satan – “if you will worship me…” – GOD WILL BE THE RIGHTFUL RECIPIENT OF ALL ETERNAL WORSHIP.
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away

ALL SCRIPTURE NKJV