Isaiah Apocalypse – Session One Notes

ISAIAH APOCALYPSE

Welcome to an amazing adventure in God.
This class is intended to cover about ten chapters of one of the most powerful prophetic books of the Old Testament. It was written somewhere around 700 BC by the man Isaiah son of Amoz.

I do want to lay out some groundwork for this class, and I also want to explain a little about how I plan to address this topic. I’d like you to know my thoughts re scripture, and also my thoughts re what God is doing ON EARTH in ALL SEASONS.

I personally love love love the NKJV bible. I’ve spent years in the KJV, then the New American Standard. A little in the NIV. Read whatever version works for you.

NOTES: Because my notes are my speaking notes, the bolding of scripture – which has been modified a little in the online postings, of lines of capitalization are not necessarily intended to say something is more important than something else, but rather it is for my speaking/teaching, so that I personally do not miss it.

Also – PLEASE pardon typos and run-ons. Because lots of words that I use (personal weird ones, or sometimes Hebrew words that want to auto-correct into something funky) I’ve shut off the auto-correct-while-typing option on the computer I use. The result is that stuff sometimes simply shows up weird.

www.EZ3728.com – I will try to post the notes there. If you are reading this, you’ve found your way there.

Questions during class – ask IF IT pertains SPECIFICALLY to what we are discussing. I am not the Bible Answer Man (thank God) and we want to remain on course. But let’s talk a little.

THIS EVENING THERE WILL BE A LITTLE MORE FOUNDATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT – so that we can set our course with a general understanding of the times of Isaiah, WHY he was prophesying what he was prophesying – both for the times ahead of him, and also for ALL TIMES in this age.

TWO FOUNDATIONAL SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS:
Our assurance that God does not change – it is why mankind is still alive!
Mal 3:6
6 “For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

HIS WORD IS NON-NEGOTIABLE
1 Pet 1:25
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

If you’ve sat in any of my teaching classes over the decades, you know I believe strongly in the
INERRANCY OF SCRIPTURE – I believe the word of God is perfect in its intent and purpose. There are some questions I have when I get to stand before the Lord – things that don’t seem to comply jive – but I can say that overall, the more you press into the word of God, the more it makes perfect sense to you, and the more you begin to gain a prophetic overview of what God is doing. It is amazing.

I am convinced the word of God is ALIVE and activated by the Spirit of God. I believe the word of God is not like any other book. There are verses to back all those opinions up. I will leave those to you.

IMPORTANTLY I BELIEVE THE BEST WAY TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE is BY THE BIBLE. It testifies of itself. That is not myopic circular thinking. It is a mindset based upon the belief that Jesus IS the word of God, that the word is alive, and that man’s opinion of that word, important as it might be, is still only man’s opinion.

I will be presenting MY opinion of the word. I will back it with scripture. That is the only thing that really matters – that the specifics of scripture can be reconciled to the fullness of the entire word.

I BELIEVE GOD requires and demands and deserves that we His people study the word of God diligently – and because He is so jealous over us, there are things in scripture RESERVED FOR PERSONAL REVELATION as one would personally press in to the word of God. So as much as I appreciate being called to study and teach the word, I strongly urge you to pore into it yourself, personally, on your own, in faith that the Holy Spirit will meet you there.

2 Tim 2:15
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

BETTER WORDING IN KJV – POINTING TO PERSONAL STUDY – KJV
2 Tim 2:15
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

THE CATCH-22 BLESSING – as you love the things of God, you will find even more pleasure in them:
Ps 111:2
2 The works of the LORD are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them.

REGARDING OT/NT – I adamantly believe that the OT was written FOR the NT saint, and in that truth lies a KEY to unlocking an understanding of ALL scripture. FIRST – the proof text (which I quote all the time):

1 Pet 1:10-12
10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
11 searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven– things which angels desire to look into.

The significance of that revelation is immeasurable – because what it does is point us BACK into the eternal word of God to discover what God INTENDED THE BELIEVERS OF OUR AGE TO DISCOVER:
How he has always worked.
How He reveals prophetic plans
What He plans to do throughout the ages
And SOME of WHEN He plans to accomplish all of His purposes.

Those plans are MOSTLY in the OT – positioned there to draw us back there, so that we might walk FORWARD in Christ.

The NT was always and in all NT writings VALIDATED by the NT players – from Jesus to Paul to Peter, James, John, etc. NO PLACE in scripture are we told to shut the OT and walk away from its truths.

OF COURSE the righteous requirements of the Mosaic Law have been fulfilled in Christ – but there is much in the OT that is NOT the Mosaic Law – and our Lord went out of His way to tell us that EVERYTHING will be FULFILLED. FULLY FILLED.
And then He even goes ahead and warns us not to fall into the trap that we are seeing much of the Church fall into – declaring things FULLY FILLED that have only been PARTIALLY FILLED.

Here’s our Lord speaking at the Sermon On The Mount – speaking about PERSECUTION and times of trouble for His people. He is making a PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE against a lie He knew would be propagated in those times (I believe these are times in which we live. I further believe these verses confirm that the saints will be ON EARTH in the midst of troubling times – to be the salt and the light):

Matt 5:14-19
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
HERE’S THE DO NOT THINK VERSES – the Pre-Emptive Strike against doctrines that are flourishing in our lifetime:
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
(the word LAW here is NOMOS – it is what is used by Paul in 1 Cor 9:9 when he quotes Isaiah 28. THIS IS A KEY to our understanding that Jesus is not limiting the total fulfillment to the Mosaic LAW)
19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus is saying DON’T DARE THINK that the NT “way” is an eradication of the OT writings and law.

Jesus tells us that EVERY TEENY WEENY little punctuation mark and point of info of the OT will be fulfilled, and then warns us all – especially the teacher – if you teach otherwise, you will diminish your reward. Stern warning. Jesus valued and values the OT writings.

Interestingly, in Luke there is another verse about all the law being fulfilled – and it is positioned IMMEDIATELY after Jesus has told His followers that there was a NEW WAY – that NEW WAY is not invalidating the NOMOS and the PROPHETS – all that will be fulfilled:
Luke 16:16-17
16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.
17 “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

Jesus was saying there is DEFINITELY a NEW WAY ushered in by His crucifixion and covenant of His blood, and that the door opened by the work of the cross is a FLOODGATE both for Jew and Gentile. YEA GOD!
But then verse 17 tells us AGAIN that even within the NEW WAY we need to understand the ongoing validity and potency of every TITTLE of the LAW.

Powerful stuff.

It is from this place of understanding that I will be teaching the Isaiah Apocalypse.
If it HASN’T HAPPENED YET, then it HASN’T HAPPENED YET. H.H.Y.
And we can look forward to its ACCOMPLISHMENT, exactly.

When you embrace that truth, many of the mysteries of prophetic writing become a little less mysterious.

I believe that too is the plan of God.
By faith we are called to press in to the word of God, and to COMPLY WITH ITS INTENT and PURPOSE.
When we get to that place, it opens up like a flower for us.

THE WARNING AND THE PROMISE TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD – a separation by God, between the RELIGIOUS and the ones who truly REVERE and TREMBLE at His word:

Isa 66:1-5
1 Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.
THE WORTHLESSNESS OF RELIGIOUS ACTION WITHOUT GOD’S PURPOSE
3 “He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood; he who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations,
THE JUDGMENT ON THE RELIGIOUS
4 So will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; but they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.”
THE VINDICATION OF THE LORD
5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at His word: “Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name’s sake, said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy.’ But they shall be ashamed.”

BTW – that is HHY – so stay tuned……

OK – THE ISAIAH APOCALYPSE.

“APOCALYPSE” –
RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER SAYS:
a-poc-a-lypse (uh pok’uh lips) n.
1. (cap.) REVELATION (def. 4).
2. any of a class of Jewish or Christian
writings of c200 B.C. to A.D. 350 that
were assumed to make revelations of the
ultimate divine purpose.
3. a prophetic revelation, esp. concerning a
cataclysm in which the forces of good
triumph over the forces of evil.
4. any revelation or prophecy.
5. any universal or widespread destruction
or disaster.
[1125-75; ME < LL apocalypsis < Gk apokálypsis Our society uses the word APOCALYPSE to describe anything disastrous. We misuse the word, like we misuse many words. EX: AWESOME (Yare) has a dread and fear of God component to it. But we have awesome hotdogs. ARMAGEDDON is a place of end-of-age conflict and death, but we announce CAR-MAGEDDON when a freeway gets closed. APOCALYPSE means REVELATION. The book of REVELATION is actually accurately titled – THE APOCALYPSE OF JESUS CHRIST. It is about something coming into sight. Something powerful and profound and of God. ISAIAH, a prophet, was called by God to see into the future and to proclaim things YET TO OCCUR. IMMEDIATELY – the flavor of the book is presented in its very first chapter, very first verses: Isa 1:1-4
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me;
3 The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider.”
4 Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward.

By the time we get to where WE plan to start (chapter 24), the divided nation of Israel is more than half in captivity in Babylon, and Isaiah, writing most likely from Jerusalem (the southern Kingdom) is calling the people to repentance and to restoration back into covenant relationship with their God, so that they might avoid the same fate as the northern Kingdom. Truth is – the southern Kingdom was on its way into captivity after the death of the prophet Isaiah.

Let’s take a side track into 2 Chron to see how it went for the southern Kingdom after the days of Isaiah.

(THERE WILL BE SIDE-TRACKS/BUNNY TRAILS. They will be purposeful for our understanding).
blessed are the flexible.

So we just read in Isa 1 that Isaiah prophesied into the days of Hezekiah. In those writings he mentions the death of Hezekiah – so we can conclude Isaiah outlived Hezekiah. But those first verses DO NOT say Isaiah prophesied during the days of Manasseh, the wicked son of Hezekiah. Isaiah’s ministry might have been silenced. Jewish history tells us that Isaiah was eventually sawn in two by Manasseh.

SO – LOOKING AT JUDAH, starting with the days of Manasseh:
2 Chr 33:1-25
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
2 But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.”
5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.
7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;
8 “and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers– only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.”
9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.
10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen.
11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon.
12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,
13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.
14 After this he built a wall outside the City of David on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate; and it enclosed Ophel, and he raised it to a very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of Judah.
15 He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city.
16 He also repaired the altar of the LORD, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.
17 Nevertheless the people still sacrificed on the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.
19 Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed they are written among the sayings of Hozai.

THEN HIS SON AMON – brief and bad reign.
THEN – chapter 34 – GOOD KING JOSIAH WHO started chasing God at the age of 20 and brought about revival and temple repair – and they discover the book of the LAW.

18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes.
20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying,
21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.
23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,
24 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah,
25 ‘because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.'”‘
26 “But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard–
27 “because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD.
28 “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.”‘” So they brought back word to the king.

AFTER JOSIAH – his son Jehoahaz – not good – he reigned THREE MONTHS.
2 Chr 36:1-23
1 Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem.
2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
3 Now the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
4 Then the king of Egypt made Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him off to Egypt.
5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God.

6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in bronze fetters to carry him off to Babylon.
7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried off some of the articles from the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months and ten days. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

10 At the turn of the year King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him and took him to Babylon, with the costly articles from the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah, Jehoiakim’s brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem.
12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD.
13 And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel.
14 Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem.
15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.
16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.

17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand.

18 And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon.
19 Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions.
20 And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia,
21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

AFTER THE PROPHETIC TIMING HAD BEEN FULFILLED:
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus (“he who keeps the furnace” – some things don’t change) king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,
23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!

So here we looked ahead to see what would happen, according to the words and visions of Isaiah who lived and prophesied many years PRIOR to all these events.

Critical to OUR study is our understanding that
• The word of the Lord endures forever.
• The words of a true prophet will come to pass.
• Sin is a reproach to ANY nation.
• God is not mocked.
• Every jot and tittle of the prophecies of Isaiah to this day have not been fulfilled.
• And because of their timing and placement in scripture it is clear to us how much of those prophecies are destined for fulfillment PRIOR TO the appearance of Messiah.

ALL THIS tells us the folks on earth prior the return of Messiah would be wise to anticipate that God will do what He says He is going to do.

ONE MORE THING – I do want to say that chapter 24 starts off pretty bleak – and it is never not (dual negative = positive) the heart of God to simply destroy and lay waste, nor to present His word and His plans without hope.

For TIME SAKE this study is picking up in chapter 24. But there are times earlier in the book of Isaiah, in the midst of judgment, proclaiming profound promises of blessing and glory.

REMEMBER – earlier in 2 Chronicles we read how violently both Egypt from the south and Assyria from the north had assaulted Israel (because God had allowed it)?

Look at the Isa 19 “HIGHWAY” promise of revival and salvation after judgment:

Isa 19:23-25
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria– a blessing in the midst of the land,
25 whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

Chapter 19 of Isaiah tells us of impending judgment on those two empires, but ends with a great promise of revival and salvation in both of those countries – so PLEASE do not let the judgment of these chapters distract you from the good intentions of God.

As Mike Bickle often says: “GOD is at war against everything that stands in the way of perfect love”. There is purpose to His judgments and plans.

We therefore would do well to read these chapters with an understanding that God’s ultimate plan is NOT to destroy man (although many will be destroyed for intentional lack of repentance). God’s ultimate plan is salvation and restoration and hope.

2 Pet 3:9 – spoken in the midst of Peter’s discussion re the Lord’s return in judgment – judgment that will be delayed AS HE SHAKES HEAVEN AND EARTH – troubling things – to try to get man’s attention…..
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The issue is that man has been and will continue to be at war against God. The nations are raging. The scriptures tell us nations will increase their rage as we get closer to the end of the age. And our God will respond.

The upcoming judgments will be UPON the NATIONS and also UPON Israel who has been disobedient.

He will surely discipline His own people. The word tells us this:

Amos 3:1-2
1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

God DEALS DIFFERENTLY WITH HIS PEOPLE.
We need to know and understand that truth:
FIRST so that we might know how to pray for Israel and minister to Israel and the Jewish people – because the PEOPLE as well as THE LAND factor so heavily into the end-of-age plans of God; AND
SECOND so that we might understand how GOD deals with US, the predominantly Gentile church.

GOD HAS HIS EYE ON HIS CHILDREN. Being in relationship with God actually places us on a way shorter leash. We should know better. We have access to the ways of God. We are accountable for that access, and that knowledge.

WE WILL LIKELY BE IN THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH several times over the course of the next few weeks, but look here now re Israel:

Zeph 3:1-20
1 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city!
2 She has not obeyed His voice, (ALTHOUGH HIS VOICE IS AVAILABLE TO BE HEARD) she has not received correction; she has not trusted in the LORD, she has not drawn near to her God.

THE CORRUPTION OF JERUSALEM’S LEADERSHIP – with was both judicial as well as religious:
3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning.

4 Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

Those leaders were still in authority – until it was time for their judgment. In like manner the Pharisees were in office until it was time for their judgment. In like manner the harlot bride will be in authority until it will be time for her judgment.

GOD WILL NEVER ALIGN HIMSELF WITH ANYONE’S WICKED WAYS
5 The LORD is righteous in her midst, he will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; he never fails, but the unjust knows no shame.

GOD SPEAKS OUT
6 “I have cut off nations, their fortresses are devastated; I have made their streets desolate, with none passing by. Their cities are destroyed; there is no one, no inhabitant.
7 I said, ‘Surely you will fear Me, you will receive instruction’– so that her dwelling would not be cut off, Despite everything for which I punished her. But they rose early and corrupted all their deeds.

THE CALL TO THE ONES WITH EARS TO HEAR, AND A REVELATION OF PLANS
8 “Therefore wait for Me,” says the LORD, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; my determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all my fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.

WHEN IS THE RESTORATION WORK GOING TO OCCUR
9 “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord. – (this is the antithesis of what occurred at the Tower of Babel. Prophetically, it is when they cry out in Revelation – Babylon is fallen!)
10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my worshipers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering.
11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds in which you transgress against Me; for then I will take away from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer be haughty in My holy mountain.
12 I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.

FINALLY THE INTENDED PEOPLE OF GOD WILL WALK IN HIS WAYS
13 The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed their flocks and lie down, and no one shall make them afraid.”
14 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away your judgments, he has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more.
16 In that day (but not until that day) it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.
THE JOYOUS SINGING OF GOD OVER THIS BELOVED, FINALLY
17 The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you with His love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
18 “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden.

ONGOING JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS WHO OPPRESS ISRAEL (GEN 12:3 – fulfilled)
19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save the lame, and gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame.
20 At that time I will bring you back, even at the time I gather you; for I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I return your captives before your eyes,” says the LORD.

MEANWHILE, LOOKING AT THE PLANS FOR THE NATIONS RAGING AGAINST GOD AND HOW THAT WILL GO:
Ps 2:1-12
1 Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.'”
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son – (prophecy of Messiah), lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (ENDING WITH A BLESSING TO ALL WHO WOULD TRUST)

Zech 14:1-4
1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations (we will see more of this when we get to Isaiah 30) to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

Ezek 38:7-16 (don’t get hung up on the “who’s Gog?” thing. It is unclear, although many believe it is a prophetic title utilized in Ezekiel to describe the warring nations at the end of THIS AGE, and again in Revelation to describe the final battle after Satan is released after doing time for 1,000 years. The point is, these are the nations against God.
7 “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.
8 “After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.
9 “You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
10 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan:
11 “You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’–
12 “to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.
13 “Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?'”‘
14 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?
15 “Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.
16 “You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”

So what we are seeing, beginning in Chapter 24 of Isaiah, is an INTERNATIONAL, WORLDWIDE PROCLAMATION that aligns with the prophetic imagery of Revelation and with other books of the bible that point to God doing a thorough work throughout all nations of the world.

The work involves warfare, natural calamity, financial collapse, desperate people becoming more and more desperate, and God shaking everything that can be shaken.

YOU WILL SEE HEAR the admonition to the saints – to the ones who have access to hear the Lord….
Heb 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.

The SHAKING PROMISE OF HEBREWS refers back to scripture in the book of Haggai, which not speaks of the worldwide shaking, but tells the REASON and INTENT for the shaking work:

Hag 2:6-9
6″For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
7 ‘and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.
8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts.
9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”

OK – ISAIAH 24!
Isa 24:1-23
1 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants.
(EVERYONE – no distinction re office, calling, capacity, status)
2 And it shall be: as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, for the LORD has spoken this word.
(the pointer to who suffers most – the haughty)
4 The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish.

(the reason for the suffering – BECAUSE….)
5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

(the pleasures won’t be available, and won’t work)
7 The new wine fails, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh.
8 The mirth of the tambourine ceases, the noise of the jubilant ends, the joy of the harp ceases.
9 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
10 The city of confusion is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
11 There is a cry for wine in the streets, all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
12 In the city desolation is left, and the gate is stricken with destruction.
13 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, it shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.
14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; for the majesty of the LORD they shall cry aloud from the sea.
(the proper response of the people of God, who understand who is sovereign)
15 Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, the name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I said, “I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”
17 Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.
19 The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again.
21 It shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth.
22 They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously.

Are the astronomical signs pointing to any NT prophecy?

Matt 24:29-30
29 “Immediately (EUTHEOS) after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mark 13:23-26
23 “But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
25 “the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in heaven will be shaken.
26 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

BACK TO ISAIAH – just like David, in Psalm 36 – where he receives an oracle re wickedness and immediately turns to praise a perfect God, Isaiah is so moved upon by the impression of worldwide judgment of the wicked, that he takes a breather, and turns to the place of JOY – the place of praise.

Isa 25:1-12
1 O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
2 For You have made a city a ruin, a fortified city a ruin, a palace of foreigners to be a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore the strong people will glorify You; the city of the terrible nations will fear You.
4 For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You will reduce the noise of aliens, as heat in a dry place; as heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
6 And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.
7 And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
ABSOLUTE TIMING-MARKER – death will be swallowed up forever – WHEN our Lord returns.
8 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.

9 And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
10 For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest, and Moab shall be trampled down under Him, as straw is trampled down for the refuse heap. (HHY)
11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst as a swimmer reaches out to swim, and He will bring down their pride together with the trickery of their hands.
12 The fortress of the high fort of your walls he will bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, down to the dust.

THE WORSHIP SYMPHONY FOR AND OF THE REDEEMED:
Isa 26:1-21
1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
5 For He brings down those who dwell on high, the lofty city; he lays it low, he lays it low to the ground, he brings it down to the dust.
6 The foot shall tread it down– the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness; O Most Upright, you weigh the path of the just.
8 Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You.
9 With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
A TRUTH THAT DEFIES THE HUMANISTIC CONCEPTS OF DEALING WITH EVIL
10 Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
11 LORD, when Your hand is lifted up, they will not see. But they will see and be ashamed for their envy of people; yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
12 LORD, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us.
13 O LORD our God, masters besides You have had dominion over us; but by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live; they are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O LORD, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have expanded all the borders of the land.
16 LORD, in trouble they have visited You, they poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.

THE IMAGERY IS WITHOUT QUESTION:
17 As a woman with child is in pain and cries out in her pangs, when she draws near the time of her delivery, so have we been in Your sight, O LORD.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.

The “disclosure of blood” means no one is getting away with anything.
The judgment of man will be thorough.
The redemption of the righteous will be clear and uncontestable.
The substitution of the blood of the guilty for the innocent blood that has been shed upon earth will be redemptive.

It speaks to us as to whose side we want to be on.

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About ez3728

I am a believer in Jesus - that He is the One and Only Messiah of the world. I believe the Bible is the perfect and complete Word of God, and that God is absolutely competent and capable of keeping His Word perfect, undefiled, and uncorrupted. Jesus was born Jewish. So was I. He lived a perfect life, and is worshiped. I live an imperfect life, and I worship Him.
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