ISAIAH the prophet For TODAY!

It shall come to Pass ....

ISAIAH FOR TODAY
by Keith Hunt
I've promised you that I will go through all the Old Testament books of the prophets, and give you the message from them for us. When I say "us" I specifically mean the Jewish people and the nations of North-Western Europe, Britain Commonwealth, and the United States of America. The latter nations are the modern House of Israel, and the former are the Jewish people scattered, but specifically as called today "Israel" dwelling in the Holy Land.
The best Website on the Internet to prove that the House of Israel is indeed the Western nations of the world is:
www.britam.org A few points concerning prophecy is in order. First, prophecy was written down for the dual or end-time fulfilment. Please note Jeremiah 30:1-1-4. As Israel and Judah were punished once in the captivities of Assyrian and Babylonian invasions (House of Israel by the Assyrian Empire 745 to 718 B.C. and the House of Judah by the Babylonian Empire 604 to 586 B.C.) so there will be an end of days captivity for the same people of Israel. If you continue reading Jeremiah 30 and verses 5-9 you will find the end-time captivity is "Jacob's Trouble" and they are not delivered out of it until David is resurrected (v.9) to again rule over them under the Lord their God, who will come in the person of Jesus Christ; hence the "second coming" of Christ to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Second, some prophecy is ONLY for the first fulfilment, other prophecies are in the main for the end-time fulfilment, and some prophecy is dual, having a type fulfilment in the past and again in the last years of this age, when all things that are written will come to pass (see Luke 21:20-22). This undertaking of mine is far from pleasant, the prophets have a very serious message to bring to Israel and Judah - REPENT OF SIN or be punished in no uncertain way. Then there is a joyous side to the prophets, they tell of the time of RESTITUTION of all things, the coming of the Messiah in glory, to set up the Kingdom of God on the earth, a time of 1,000 years of transformation for the physical earth, all nations upon it, and even the wild animals will be changed to peace and harmony, the lion eating straw like the ox, as in the wonderful prophecy of Isaiah 11. Some prophecies are directed to the House of Judah and some to the House of Israel, some include BOTH and may come under the name "Israel." Those directed specifically to Judah or Israel will have in type a message for the other also. In the first fulfilment of punishment to Israel and to Judah, each had its own "time" of punishment, as stated above. Not so at the second fulfilment - both the House of Judah and the House of Israel will fall into captivity punishment at the SAME time. Many studies on my Website will show you the last 42 months, 1260 days, a time, times, and dividing of a time (as the book of Revelation states it) of this age, is the time when all prophecy written will come to a crashing climax. It is not only Jacob's trouble (Israel - all 13 tribes) as Jeremiah put it, but it is the trouble for the WHOLE world, as the book of Revelation makes clear. Another key to prophecy is knowing WHO the modern nations of the world were when the prophets wrote. All nations have a history, where they came from, in other words who they were a thousand years ago and two thousand years ago, or three thousand years ago, or going back in time 4 or 5 thousand years ago and maybe even further back than that. My friend, the late Harold Hemenway did a detailed study of the migration of the nations of Genesis 10, and who they eventually became in our modern world. His research study "Migration of the Nations" can be found on my website. Mr. Craig White has also researched the origin of the nations. His book is called "In search of The Origin of Nations" - a 471 page book 8 x 11 and can be bought from Amazon.com It is a vital key, knowning who the modern nations are that the Bible prophets were giving their message towards. THE PROPHET ISAIAH This will not be a verse by verse commentary but the OVERVIEW of the message for our day. ISAIAH WRITES: Generally accepted writing and prophecy of Isaiah is from about 740 to 680 B.C. CHAPTER ONE Verse one: the prophecy begins specifically to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The ox knows its stall, so does a horse, but Israel (as a whole people, and the Jews are Israelites, though not all Israelites are Jews, just as all Californians are USA citizens, but not all USA citizens are Californians) DOES NOT KNOW her God. Judah and Jerusalem are a nation laden with iniquity, evildoers, corrupters, ones who have FORSAKEN the Lord. From the sole of the foot to the head there is no soundness. Yes, this is talking to YOU there in the Holy Land, in Jerusalem. You are a SINFUL nation, you are not serving the Lord, you pollute His holy commandments! You are the seed of Abraham only in name! You do not do the works of your father Abraham, you are mainly a SECULAR society. You do not serve the Holy One of Israel (v.3-6). Because you do not serve the Holy One, your country will be DESOLATE, your cities will BURN with fire, a stranger will come and devour. The daughters of Zion will be as a besieged city. You do not want, and you say there never will be another mass extinction of Jews as perpetrated by Hitler and his gang in the Second World War, but you are woefully wrong! You WILL go into punishment and be depleted in numbers that unless the Lord of hosts had left you a few, you would be as Sodom and like unto Gomorrah (v.7-9). The Lord addresses you as Sodom and Gomorrah in verse 10. You are to hear His word. He says to you (and in type then to ALL the nations of Israel) what good is it that you come before Him with an outward form of religion? You may have your Sabbath days, your assemblies in His name, your appointed Festival days, BUT HE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THEM!! They are a TROUBLE unto Him. They make Him weary! When you do spread forth your hands to hold them up as if in worship to Him; He will HIDE HIS EYES from you; yes, when you make many prayers, He WILL NOT HEAR! Your hands, your way of life, is full of BLOOD! You are a VIOLENT society! You DO EVIL! Your name under God, or "in God we trust" is HOLLOW! The Almighty calls you to CEASE FROM DOING EVIL. You are to LEARN to do well; seek judgment, help the oppressed, serve the fatherless and the widow. Get your PRIORITIES straight! You spend BILLIONS, even TRILLIONS, on things that do not make you a better people. You NEED to LEARN what is GOOD and RIGHT and HOLY! You need to LIVE by God's Holy Word, not just look at it or carry it under your arm, on your Festival occasions, but you need to learn to LIVE by it in all your ways, from the Government down to the individual person (10-17). Your God calls you to REASON together with Him. Though your SINS be as SCARLET, they can be as white as snow, though they be RED like crimson, they can be as white as wool. The Bible shows you HOW to have your sins washed away. It tells you about SIN! It teaches you about RIGHTEOUSNESS! It leads you to REPENTANCE, IF you but will let it be your guide. IF you will be WILLING and OBEDIENT, these prophecies need NOT come to pass, your punishment need NOT come upon you, and you can enjoy the good of the land. BUT if you REFUSE and REBEL, then know for sure that you WILL BE DEVOURED BY THE SWORD! The Lord has spoken it! I do not know WHEN your punishment will come, but I tell you with all confidence IT WILL COME!! (v.18-20). There was a time when you KNEW BETTER. But you have become a HARLOT! Righteousness was once in you, but now murderers and violence. Your silver is dross, your wine as diluted with water. Your leaders (princes) are thieves in many matters, even the matter of money and various corruptions behind closed doors. You house people that are willing to be bribed, do anything for a dollar. You have not looked after the fatherless and widow like you should have, but you can spend TRILLIONS on warfare, space exploits, and other careless spending. Because you will NOT repent, not get things in correct perspective, the Lord WILL turn His hand on you, He will thrash you, purge away the dross, and take away all the outward decorations that look good but underneath show only corruptible sin. The Eternal WILL bring you BACK to the right pathway and you shall again be called a CITY of RIGHTEOUSNESS, a FAITHFUL city. Zion shall again be REDEEMED and converted to righteousness. The sinners shall have their reward and be consumed. Your looking the wrong way, desiring the wrong things, that look like nice gardens on the outside, but inside is poisonous plants to kill you, and you shall wither away as gardens without water. The strong shall be weak, those promoting the wrong spark of life shall all burn up in the fire of punishment and none will be able to put that fire out (18-31). Only the Eternal God shall be able to stop that fire of correction. And thankfully He will! Christ Jesus will come to earth again, and put an end to rebellious Judah and Israel, and to all peoples and nations that will NOT obey Him and His commandments. For we have the wonderful promise of the first verses of chapter two. CHAPTER TWO The word of the Lord concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It will come to pass IN THE LAST DAYS - at the VERY END of this age, even THE END, the mountain or Kingdom of God's house shall be established on the top of the mountains or kingdoms of all nations, and shall be exalted above the hills, all smaller nations (Daniel 2:35 gives us a "mountain" is type of kingdom). And ALL nations will flow unto it. Many people shall go and say, "Come you, let us go up to the Kingdom of God, to the house of the Lord God of Jacob; and He will TEACH us of HIS WAYS, and we shall WALK in HIS PATHS; for out of Zion shall go forth the LAW, and the WORD of the Lord from Jerusalem" (verses 1-3). What a time! What a wonderful day indeed, when FINALLY all peoples from around the world will not only ACKNOWLEDGE the ways of God are the right and correct ways to live but will DESIRE to want to LEARN His LAW, and want to walk in His path of righteousness. The truths of the Lord will go forth from Zion, from Jerusalem, like the shinning light that a lighthouse sends out from on top of the hill overlooking the expanse of the sea. The city of Jerusalem will one day be that lighthouse, sending forth the laws and commandments of God to all nations. The Lord God in the form of Jesus Christ shall be judge of the world, and shall REBUKE, if needs be, the peoples of the earth. And those people will beat their swords (their metal war machines of all types) into implements for agricultural work, their heavy machine guns into implements to fish by; NATIONS WILL NOT LIFT UP SWORD AGAINST NATIONS, NEITHER SHALL THEY LEARN WAR ANY MORE!! Among all this bad news the prophets must tell you, and your people wherever you live in the major nations of this earth, they also tell you the GOOD NEWS that beyond the GREAT TRIBULATION that is to come, there will be a NEW AGE, a 1,000 year age of the Kingdom of God on this earth, that will be like nothing the earth has seen since the time before Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden. We shall see as we proceed through the prophet Isaiah, many more passages that give us the sure promises from the Eternal, what that age to come will be like. The house of Jacob (all 13 tribes of Israel) will come again, be brought back from captivity, and will walk in the light of the Lord (verses 4-5). Israel and Judah will need to be punished for their sins, for mighty and grievous they are. Our sin of ABORTION on demand is huge beyond measure. We now sanction homosexual and lesbian marriage, even some church organizations allow priests and ministers to be homosexual or lesbian. Evolution is taught in our schools, violence is all around our nations and cities. It is not only the Western world that so sin, it is ALL nations. Sin is rampant in every nation on earth, some lesser, some greater. From verse 6 to verse 22, God addresses the sin of all nations. Israel and Judah will be scattered in captivity among many nations at the end of this age. Those nations will have their silver and gold, all kinds of physical treasures and machines of war. They will have their idols, they will worship the work of their hands, their people will bow down and serve the material work of their material mind-set. God tells them to enter into the rocks, to hide in the dust, FOR THE FEAR OF THE LORD, because His GLORY AND MAJESTY IS ABOUT TO BE POURED OUT ON ALL NATIONS! In that day the lofty looks of man and his haughtiness will be brought down, in THAT DAY it is only the Lord who will be EXALTED! It is THE DAY OF THE LORD!! It is the time spoken about in many places in all the old prophets of Israel. It is the time called in the book of Revelation "the GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH IS COME, and who shall be able to stand" (Rev.6:17). All that man looks to, in his sinful mind, all that man esteems important, all that his physical mind holds as idols to worship and govern his life by, will COME CRASHING DOWN! All high powerful nations down to the smaller nations, the mountains and the hills, all the fenced walls of armies and war machines to protect, all the pleasures of material living, shall CRASH TO THE GROUND! Only God will be EXALTED in that day! Peoples all over the earth will FLEE to hide themselves in the rocks and caves of the earth, for they WILL FEAR the Lord, they will FEAR His MAJESTY .... WHEN HE RISES TO SHAKE TERRIBLY THE EARTH!! All that man has made for himself to worship, and to lust after and hold for himself, they shall cast to the bats and to the moles of the earth, as they themselves flee into the CLEFTS OF THE ROCKS, and into their dugouts, or flee to the tops of the hills; they shall FEAR THE LORD, WHEN HE RISES TO SHAKE TERRIBLY THE EARTH! So it is written, so shall it come to pass. When will it be, that is not revealed to us, in the lifetime of you reading these words, maybe! In the lifetime of your children, maybe! In the lifetime of your grandchildren, maybe! Whenever it is to be, I cannot tell you, BUT KNOW THIS; OUR SINFUL NATIONS WILL HAVE A DAY OF RECKONING; GOD IS NOT TURNING A BLIND EYE TO ALL OUR SINS AND INIQUITIES, TO ALL OF OUR LAWLESSNESS, TO ALL OF OUR TRAMPING OVER HIS GREAT AND GOOD AND HOLY COMMANDMENTS. He is PATIENT, so the LONGSUFFERING of Himself can bring SOME TO REPENTANCE NOW! But I tell you as sure as the rising of the sun in its full strength, GOD WILL PUNISH THIS EARTH AND THE NATIONS UPON IT FOR THEIR SINS, THEIR EVIL, THEIR LAWLESS WAYS AND STEADY DECLINE INTO MORE AND MORE DEBAUCHERY. Isaiah was inspired to finish this passage of thought with these words: "Cease you from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?" Man is NOTHING! God is ALL IN ALL! You need to put your trust and faith in Him, not the ways of man. You need to have a respectful FEAR of the Lord, to LOVE Him with all your heart and mind and life, to LOVE His Holy Word and His Holy Commandments; then you can stand with David, and Daniel, with Abraham, Moses, Paul, and all the saints of God in the RESURRECTION at the last days. Then you can be a part of the Family of God, to help bring the nations of Israel and the whole world BACK TO SERVING THE ETERNAL GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. .................. To be continued

2. Isaiah - a Prophet for Today

Judgment on Judah and Israel

CHAPTER THREE The Lord God continues here with more judgment upon the house of Judah and Jerusalem. God will take away from you Judah, all the bread and water you enjoy now. He will take away your army, your judges, your religious leaders, the young and the old, the tradesmen, the statesmen. You will be ruled over by the princes and babes, that know no knowledge of the Lord, everyone will be oppressed, even to the ancient or old of days, the unhonorable against the honorable. The simple of mind, the uneducated in the wisdom of God, shall rule over you. For the Lord looks at the time when Judah is FALLEN, and Jerusalem is ruined, the time when you are AGAINST the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. You, the people of Judah, are so living today, your people and nation as a whole have TURNED away from the Word and Commandments of the Most High. You show in your daily living you as sinners. You have given yourself the reward you deserve - evil; you shall eat the fruit of your doings. Woe to the wicked, for they shall be rewarded according to their works. The Lord of Hosts says: "As for my people (all the tribes of Israel), CHILDREN are their oppressors, and WOMEN rule over them. Oh, my people THEY WHICH LEAD YOU cause you to ERR, and destroy your paths" (verses 1-12). Did you hear this oh Israel, your LEADERS cause you to ERR! It makes no difference if they "go to church" - "carry the Bible under their arm one day in seven" - "speak at times as though they are 'religious'" - your leaders DO NOT KNOW the true God nor do they know His commandments and the right ways to live under God. You have allowed the wrong ideas of women and children to lead you. All of your people, young, old, male, female, have turned from the Law of the Lord! The Lord stands up to plead, He stands to judge. He will not always be longsuffering. The days come when God will enter into JUDGMENT with the ancients of His people, and the princes (leaders), for you have eaten up the vineyard of good and you have neglected to look after the poor of the land, as you should have done. You have beaten to pieces the people, and have pushed the face of the poor as if in the dirt. Judgment will come, says the Lord of Hosts! Now, your God turns His attention to the daughters of Zion, to the average woman, and in type, and because God is no respecter of persons this prophecy applies to the daughters of Israel as well as Judah. Your daughters by and large, in your secular world, are all out to be physically alluring, sensual, sexy. I happened to see last night (April 2008) a part program on TV that showed some of the "night-clubs" in your lands, where the daughters, young ladies, frequent and DISPLAY themselves in all their sexy clothes, even to their sexy underwear, while they dance and get drunk (some interviewed saying they wanted to get drunk) and lure the wanton eyes of all around. Your daughters of your lands are shameless and "fornicating whores" dressed in the so-called "respectability" of legal night-clubs. Your TV stations, your "movie theatres," your advertisements in all forms of media, are to advance the promotions of making you "sexy." BUT the Eternal says the day comes when all these "trinkets" - all these "jewels" - all this "fine linen" - all the "chains and bracelets, and ornaments, and rings, and nose jewels" etc. will be taken away. Instead of the sweet smell, there shall be STINK, instead of well set hair, there will be baldness, a BURNING instead of beauty. The day comes when your men whom you desire shall FALL BY THE SWORD! And there shall be weeping and lamentation in all your gates (verses 16-26). CHAPTER FOUR In that day, when it comes to pass, as the Eternal has said, SEVEN women shall want to take hold of ONE man, to have in marriage, for so depleted will be the men of your land (verse 1). But, there is good news beyond the destruction. At that time of trouble the BRANCH of the Lord (Jesus the Christ) shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth again becomes excellent and comely, for those who shall be the escaped of Israel, for those who shall not die. And it shall come to pass for those who are left in Zion and those remaining in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, all that are written among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has WASHED AWAY THE FILTH of the daughters of Zion, and will have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning destruction. The Lord will create upon every dwelling place in Zion, a cloud by day and a fire by night: for upon the that glory of restitution shall be a defence. There will come peace and safety, a shade in the hot daytime, and a place of refuge from the storm and rain (verses 2-6). Yes, Zion, Jerusalem, you shall know PEACE and SAFETY, a refuge in the time of storm. You do not know it today, you will not know it tomorrow, for much tribulation is yet to devour your people and children and sons. But your Messiah, the Branch of God, shall come and bear glorious fruit, you shall then know Him and be brought back to Zion and Jerusalem, from the captivity whence you have been taken. You will then REPENT, and you will dwell safely in the land of promise. The start of the 1,000 years of the Kingdom of God on earth will not be all roses around the world, some will yet need to come to know the Lord, to repent of sin, to put away their weapons of war. There will be much to say and do for other nations to bring them to the light of God, but you Israelites, now dwelling back in Jerusalem and Zion and the Holy Land promised to Abraham and his descendants, there will be peace and safety. CHAPTER FIVE The Eternal now sings a song to His beloved people, to their vineyard. The Lord took it to bring forth sweep grapes but it brought forth wild grapes. He says to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the men of Judah, they are to judge, to understand what this parable is all about. He says He will take away the protective hedge and break down the walls thereof, so the vineyard can be trodden down: so it can be laid WASTE: be not pruned and dug, but so thorns and thistles come up. The clouds will He command to not bring rain (verses 1-6). What, or WHO IS this vineyard? God answers, He tells us, He interprets for us .... the vineyard is the HOUSE OF ISRAEL and THE MEN OF JUDAH ... his pleasant plant. The Lord looked for JUDGMENT, right understanding of how to live, but behold He found only OPPRESSION; for righteousness ... but behold there is a CRY SAYING...... WOE - to them who build house upon house, field upon field, settlement upon settlement. For it shall all become DESOLATE, without inhabitant. WOE - to them who rise up early and stay up late at night to party and drink until they are drunk. The Lord looks and He sees in Israel that music and fancy dress and lovely decorations are in your Feasts: BUT you do NOT regard the true works and ways of the Lord, neither do you consider the true work of His hands, you have a FALSE religion, you have as the apostle Paul said would come in the last days, a FORM of religion but you DENY the POWER thereof! You are going into captivity because you have NO TRUE KNOWLEDGE, and your leaders are FAMISHED to know the RIGHT ways, and dried up as a desert. Hell is going to open its mouth and all of your ways and frivolous pomp and festivals will descend down into it. The mighty as the world looks at mighty, will be HUMBLED! God that is Holy shall be EXALTED IN JUDGMENT and sanctified in RIGHTEOUSNESS. There will be a burning and strangers will eat the fat of the land. WOE - unto them that pull INIQUITY with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope, pulling more and more SIN into the walk of life in Israel and Judah. You laugh at God, and in mocking words tell him to "bring it on" - so one day He will! WOE - to them that call EVIL "GOOD" and GOOD "EVIL" - that put DARKNESS for "LIGHT," and LIGHT for "DARKNESS;" that put BITTER for "SWEET" and SWEET for "BITTER." You have it all BACKWARDS and UPSIDE-DOWN and INSIDE-OUT! You do NOT know the truth from the false, you do NOT know sin from righteousness. Your leaders in secular life and religious life have turned right into wrong and wrong into right. WOE - to them who are wise in their own eyes, who do not seek the wisdom of God, but trust in their own ways, who make up false ways to act and live and practice, as if it is from God. They have become a law unto themselves, and even worship the Almighty with the traditions of men. WOE - to them who think it is clever and some act of greatness to drink wine and strong drink, as if the more the better, which then justify giving rewards to the wicked ... "come on I'll dare you to do this, I'll give you some reward." So we have those who drink and drink and then perform some horrible act upon man or beast, anything to get some fame or a few dollars on a "bet." Who so drunk they take away the righteousness from the righteous, they know not what is good and proper any more. We see it in the news each day, of people drunk on wine or drugs, who then commit acts of brutality and violence. ...... Yes, WOE be to all who so live, the day of judgment draws nigh (verses 8-23). Therefore says the Mighty One, the fire will come and devour, the flame will come and consume, and the blossom of God's people shall be as dust. WHY? Oh WHY is this to happen? Look! See what the Word of the Lord says: "BECAUSE THEY HAVE CAST AWAY THE LAW OF THE LORD OF HOSTS AND, DESPISED THE WORD OF THE HOLY ONE of Israel!! (verse 24). You have many in your "religion" who teach the law of God is abolished, that grace allows YOU to decide what is sin or righteousness. Therefore, the ANGER of the Lord is kindled against His people, and He has stretched forth His hand against them, and hath SMITTEN them; the hills did tremble, their bodies were torn in the midst of the streets, but His hand is still stretched out .... He will yet Oh Israel put up a sign, call with a hiss from the ends of the earth, and BEHOLD HIS BATTLE AXE will come, swiftly it will come. They shall not slumber or sleep any more, they have put on their armor, they have one purpose in mind, which cannot be broken. They have their sharp swords, their weapons are strong like the whirlwind. They shall roar like the lion, like young lions, to lay hold of the pray and carry it away. None can be delivered from them. It shall come to pass oh people of Israel and Judah that your enemy can no longer be held back, your SINS will have turned the longsuffering and patience of God to ANGER and JUDGMENT. In that day the enemy from afar will ROAR like the sea, and if one looks at the land only DARKNESS AND SORROW is seen. When it is light, it shall be DARKNESS in the DESTRUCTION thereof (verses 24-30). ................. To be continued

3. The Prophet Isaiah for Today

The Past and the Future

CHAPTER 6 Isaiah has a vision, he sees the Lord (Heb.Adonai), His flow of garments (the skirts thereof - margin) fill the heavenly Temple. There are SERAPHIMS, special heavenly beings. Each have six wings, two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two wings they fly with. One Seraphim cries out, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord (Heb.YHVH) of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. We see here that "Adonai" is also YHVH. In many studies elsewhere on this Website we give proof that the TWO beings of the Godhead are and can both be Adonai and YHVH - the ONE who comes back to earth and sets foot on the mount of Olives (see Zech.14) is YHVH as the Hebrew is in those verses of Zechariah. God the Father and God the Son both have the name YHVH. As Jesus said, "I and the Father are ONE." Not that they are one being, as some Trinity teaching is taught, but that they are ONE as the church is ONE, as Adam and Eve became ONE in union through marriage (see Genesis 2:24). Whatever the Father has, so has the Son. They share the same nature, perfection and holiness, the share the same glory, the same power, they share everything as the same. The only difference is that the Father is greater in AUTHORITY, as Jesus said, "The Father is greater than I." Jesus sits at the Father's right hand in the heavenly Temple and throne. He does not sit on top of Him or inside Him, He sits NEXT to Him, on His right hand. Nothing in the New Testament is more clear than that Jesus is God, and the Father is God, that they both form the Godhead, TWO BEINGS MAKING ONE Godhead. Isaiah, in the presence of God in this vision is UNDONE, he is a sinner indeed in the presence of the Lord. He admits his sin and the sin of the people of all Israel. He is a man of unclean lips, whatever that might have meant, which is not in any detail explained to us. He has seen in the vision of the minds eye the KING, the LORD of hosts. One of the Seraphim flies to Isaiah with a live coal in his hand which he has taken from the heavenly altar. He puts it on the lips of Isaiah, and tells him that his sins have been taken away, purged. Isaiah then hears the voice of the Lord saying, "WHOM SHALL I SEND, and who will go for US?" Yes, it is "us" as it was in Genesis 1:26; "Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness." The Godhead is ONE but consists of TWO individual beings, always has from eternity past. See other studies on this Website for the truth of the matter on that subject. Isaiah says he WILL GO! God, tells him then to go to His people. To preach to them, BUT they will not hear, they will not understand nor will they perceive. Isaiah will make their heart fat, and their ears heavy, they will shut their eyes; they will not see, they will shut their minds and hearts, LEST they understand and be healed and be CONVERTED! It is NOT appointed for the masses to be CONVERTED. Paul brings all this truth out in Romans chapters 9 to 11. Only a remnant, only a calling through grace is allowed in this age for the relatively few. Isaiah asks "Lord, how long?" God answers, "UNTIL THE CITIES BE WASTED WITHOUT INHABITANT, and the houses without men, and the LAND be UTTERLY DESTROYED. Until the Lord has REMOVED people FAR AWAY, and there be great forsaking in the land. Until there be but a TENTH, and they RETURN after even the tenth is somewhat eaten." Yes, LESS than 10 per cent of your people Israel and Judah shall remain to see the coming of the Lord and be delivered from bondage and restored to the Promised Land under the rulership of the Messiah. You will yet be punished MIGHTILY for all your sins and iniquities Oh you people of all the tribes of Israel. When it happens, as it surely will, you WILL KNOW a prophet and minister of the Lord Most High was in your midst, to tell you of your SINS and the PUNISHMENT to come!! CHAPTER SEVEN AND EIGHT These two chapters had HISTORICAL import for the then present ONLY, in Israel and Judah. They have nothing directly to do with us TODAY. You can read those chapters in a modern translation and/or go to the Bible Commentaries for the historical events that happened in the life time of Isaiah, for the expounding of those chapters. I will only add here that we have FOUR significant prophecies that did have fulfilment in the FIRST century A.D. We have the famous sign of a "maid" (verse 14 - Heb. elmaw - a lass, veiled or kept out of sight - Strong's #5959 from 5958). In the context here the word had nothing to do with "virginity" per se. His name was to be called Immanuel, that is God with us. A type prophecy concerning the birth of Christ, who was from a maid, and also a virgin (Mat.1:23). Before the child should know to refuse evil and choose the good, the land that is full of abhorrent sin would be forsaken of both kings, that of Judah and that of Israel (verse 1). It was to be the king of the Assyria Empire that would come to destroy the House of Israel and much of the House of Judah (many forget that much of Judah was also destroyed by the Assyrian armies (verse 17). This verse 14 is connected with verses 3 and 4 of chapter 8. Isaiah had a son from a prophetess. The child's name was to be called "Mahershal-alhashbaz" the margin of the KJV gives the Hebrew as "In making speed to the spoil he hasteneth the prey, or, Make speed,). Before the child was to have the knowledge to cry, "My father" or "My mother" the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria was to be taken away before the king of Assyria (chap.8:4). Some of the kingdom of Judah was to be spared (chapt.8:5-8). Chapter 7:18-25 as the heading in my KJV Bible puts it is: "Devastation of the land foretold." Chapter 8:9-12 though they confederate together and plan to overcome defeat, they will not escape destruction. They are to FEAR the Lord and let Him be their defence, He should be their sanctuary, but He will alas be their ROCK OF OFFENCE; a STUMBLING BLOCK, both to the house of Israel and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Many among them would fall and be broken, be snared and be taken. This was a type reference to Jesus the Christ, the STONE of Israel, whom they would not accept, but would be offended in Him. The prophecy is given as fulfilment in Luke 2:34; Rom.9:33; 1 Peter 2:8. A prophecy of the apostles binding up and sealing the Testimony and Law was given in chap.8:16. It was the apostles of the first century that were to canonize and establish the New Testament Scriptures NOT some Roman Catholic church in the 3rd or 4th century. See the studies called "Canonization of the New Testament" on my website. Chapter 8:18 was fulfilled in the words and days of Christ as given in Hebrews 2:13. Verses 19 and 20 are key verses to show you that nothing but the Scriptures of God are to serve as what is truth or error. You are not to look to visions, miracles, fancy signs or the clever and lofty speeches of men. With all those things MANY lead MANY down the wrong garden path into the thorn bushes of deception and false teachings. You must always do as the Bareans did in Acts 17; search the Scriptures to see if those things are indeed so, if they are in accord with the Scriptures. Keep your nose and eyes and mind in the Bible!! Then you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!! CHAPTER NINE Verses 1-2 had a fulfilment back in the days of Isaiah, but it had another fulfilment in the days of Christ. See Mat.4:16 and Eph.5:8,14. Yes, some prophecy has a DUAL meaning, and sometimes a THIRD fulfilment, for in the last days those people of Israel as mentioned will have affliction and will come through it to see that from darkness there will be LIGHT. From death, there will be LIFE. The yoke of the enemy shall be broken in the last days. FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN, A SON IS GIVEN, AND THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER: AND HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED WONDERFUL, COUNSELLOR, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLASTING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE. OF THE INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE THERE SHALL BE NO END, UPON THE THRONE OF DAVID, AND UPON HIS KINGDOM, TO ORDER IT, AND TO ESTABLISH IT WITH JUDGMENT AND WITH JUSTICE FROM HENCEFORTH EVEN FOR EVER. THE ZEAL OF THE LORD OF HOSTS WILL PERFORM THIS!!(verses 6-7). Oh, yes Israel and Judah, despite your sins and iniquities, your unbelief, your hard-heartedness, your turning away from your God and His holy laws and commandments. Despite your thumbing your nose at Him, despite all your evil, your crime, your killing of the unborn innocent child, despite your adulteries and fornications, your false religions, your trampling all over God's holy Sabbath day, despite your leaders and priests that lead you astray and in the pathway of unrighteousness. Despite all your revellings and drunkards and your sick-coms on prime time Television. Despite all your traditions that abolish the commandments of God, that produce only a form of religion. Despite all your wrong, ungodly education in your schools, despite the violence not only in your streets but in your sporting leisure. Despite all the evil in your music and movies, despite the scandals and corruptions that are in your governments. Despite all of this, there is a child that was born of a virgin 2,000 years ago, who came and died for sin, who was resurrected and who is now on the right hand of the Father in heaven, waiting to be sent back to this earth in power and glory and judgment. To Him is given a Kingdom, to Him is given the throne of David and He will establish His Kingdom with peace and order and judgment and justice. He will come again! He is the ONE who bears the names of God; Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The Kingdom of God will come to earth. You Oh Israel and Judah will not be fully destroyed in the Great Tribulation at the end time. Some of you will live and will see with your own eyes the words just written in these verses of Isaiah. There is a BRIGHT DAY a coming! (verses 6-7). BUT till then .... Isaiah goes back once more to cry aloud and spares not to show God's people their sins. The Word of the Eternal is to Jacob, it is come to Israel. All the people shall hear and know, even Ephraim (The British Commonwealth) and Samaria (all of the tribes of Israel), that say though the bricks be fallen down, we have doom preached to us, we shall not fall, we shall build. But the Lord says because of this attitude of "all is well" - "no disaster can strike us" - then the Syrians will be before, and the Philistines behind (the modern people of Syria and the Palestinians) shall help in devouring Israel. God's anger is not turned away, His hand is stretched out to punish. The people though smitten even now in their troubles with Syria and the Palestinians, will NOT turn unto God, they will not seek Him in humility! Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel both the head and the tail. In one short day or time frame it will come. The head is the ancient and so- called honorable, the ones who should know better, the so-called wise of the land, the so-called educated, those in government office. The tail is the prophet, the priest, the religious leaders. It is those LEADERS THAT CAUSE ISRAEL TO ERR!! It is because of those leaders that Israel will be destroyed (verses 8- 16). The Lord will not spare, His mercy will run out, His longsuffering will come to an end. The land is full of hypocrites and evil doers, there is much folly in the mouth of people. FOR ALL THIS AND MORE, His anger will not be turned away; His hand will be stretched out to punish! It is for WICKEDNESS that the people and the land will BURN like the dry wild forests burn with fire. The land will be DARKNESS for the smoke of the fire and the people as fuel. None can save the life of another, ONLY God will be the protector in that day. That day will be so terrible that people will eat their own flesh. Manasseh (the USA) and Ephraim (the British) and Ephraim, Manasseh, they shall be against Judah (the Jews). None will pity any, all will be for themselves. They will only be concerned about their own individual lives and have the attitude of "to hell with everyone else." For all this, His ANGER is not YET TURNED AWAY, but His arm is still stretched out to punish even more. CHAPTER TEN Isaiah is given more words to say to Israel and Judah. Those that oppress, who turn aside the needy from judgment and take away what is the right of the poor, that widows and the fatherless be not cared for. Think of all the BILLIONS and TRILLIONS of dollars in the Western world. Think of the multi- millionaires in the Western world. Think of all the wealth in Israel and Judah, all the good and the helpful, all the less fortunate in one way or another, and the service and help that could be handed out. Think of all the MONEY that the rich spend on themselves, huge houses, two or three, huge boats, mansions here and there, expensive cars beyond any real need, and on and on I could go. There was a young man, about age 30. He started in the world of high Computer technology. In ten years he was able to sell his business for hundreds of millions of dollars. The TV interviewer saw his large plane outside his office. He asked the rich young man if he was a pilot. He answered no he was not. He was then asked if he flew around in his plane very much; the answer was no he did not. The interviewer then asked why he had the plane then. The young rich man answered "Because I can." He bought the plane, worth some millions of dollars, because he could!! There is nothing wrong with wealth and riches per se. Wealth can be a blessing. Job was a very wealthy man, but Job used his wealth to give and to serve others. God indites our people, the wealth we have, for NOT USING it as we should. Yes, there are "bums" out there, who need help to get their minds back in order first, but there are also MANY who need and deserve a helping hand. God gave ancient Israel many laws concerning the helping and serving of the poor and needy. Part of the punishment to come upon us is because we have NOT used the wealth given to us CORRECTLY!! God's hand will be stretch out, it is just a matter of time. Which MAIN nation will God use to punish us? Here it is in Isaiah 10, verses 5-11. The modern nation of Assyria is the GERMAN nation. Twice she has been the enemy of the West. Once MORE she will be the tool God uses to punish His people Israel and Judah. For a full historical and Biblical expounding of the old Assyrian Empire being modern Germany, you need to obtain the book from Amazon.com called "The Great German Nation - Origins and Destiny" by C.M.White. "O Assyria," says the Lord, "the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit, HE MEANS NOT SO, neither doth his heart THINK SO; but it is in his heart to DESTROY and cut off nations not a few. For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings. .... Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols'" (verses 5-11). It was the Assyrian Empire that God used against ancient Israel and Judah (those that remained of Judah, later the Babylon Empire would take captive). It has been in modern times the same people who are now the German race of today (the Assyrian people migrated through Europe into the land called today Germany) who have been the enemy of the West, the modern House of Israel, and the people of Judah, the Jews. It is not in the heart, it is not the design of Germany to kill and plunder, BUT given the right political situation, the world politics, and all that was the mind-set of the First and Second World Wars, then Germany will RISE AGAIN to be the leader of the Western world. The next time around, the THIRD ROUND, they will have a Beast power of a some-what United Europe behind them, together with a Great Catholic (which means "universal") RELIGION, with its false prophet of the book of Revelation, and its "beast" man, political/military leader to SPEAR-HEAD them. It's all in the pages of Bible Prophecy. It's all expounded in many various studies on this website. THE nation to spear-head the punishment to come on the North-Western nations of Europe, the British Commonwealth and the United States of America, will be the mighty GERMAN nation. This time around it will be under the banner of "Christendom" - doing what they consider is the way to bring God's religion and kingdom to the nations of the world. A greater "religious work" than was ever perpetrated before in the two world wars of the 20th century. The next world-war will be the final world-war to end with the return of the Messiah to stop man from destroying all flesh from off the planet, and to also punish those who are destroying the earth. Germany will be used to punish the Israel and Judah of God, but when that is completed, Germany and the end-time Babylon/Beast power will be punished for their loftiness and stout heart of vanity. But that is to see next time. ................... To be continued

4. The Prophet Isaiah for Today

The Great German/Europe Empire!

CHAPTER TEN The Punishment of Assyria From the "New Living Translation" 5 Destruction is certain for Assyria, the WHIP of my anger. Its military power is a CLUB in my hand. 6 Assyria will enslave my people, who are a GODLESS nation. It will PLUNDER them, TRAMPLING them like dirt beneath its feet. 7 But the king of Assyria will not know that it is I who sent him. He will merely think he is attacking my people as part of his plan to conquer the WORLD. 8 He will say, "Each of my princes will soon be a king, ruling a conquered land. 9 We will destroy Calno just as we did Carchemish. Hamath will fall before us as Arpad did. And we will destroy Samaria as we did Damascus. 10 Yes, we have finished off many a kingdom whose gods were far greater than those in Jerusalem Samaria. 11 So when we have defeated Samaria and her gods, we will destroy Jerusalem with hers." There was a FIRST fulfilment of this prophecy, and it was the intention of the Assyria Empire to continue into Jerusalem and conquer not only all of Judah but the great city Jerusalem as well. Continuing with the above translation: 12 After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and PUNISH him - for he is proud and arrogant. 13 He boasts, "By my OWN power and wisdom I have won these wars. By my OWN strength I have captured many lands, destroyed their kings, and carried off their treasures. 14 By my greatness I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs. No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest." 15 Can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a whip strike unless a hand is moving it? Can a cane walk by itself? 16 Listen now, king of Assyria! Because of all your evil boasting, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a plague among your proud troops, and a flaming fire will ignite your glory. 17 The LORD, the light of Israel and the Holy One, will be a flaming fire that will destroy them, In a single night he will burn those thorns and briers, the Assyrians. 18 Assyria's vast army is like a glorious forest yet it will be destroyed. The LORD will completely destroy Assyria's warriors, and they will waste away like sick people in a plague. 19 Only a few from all that mighty army will survive - so few that a child could count them! In the first original fulfilment, it was the Lord who intervened with His mighty power and the Assyria army was cut down, destroyed, and could not take Jerusalem. All the House of Israel and MUCH of Judah did fall and was taken captive, deported from their land. In the SECOND and last fulfilment, BOTH the House of Israel and the House of Judah AND the city of Jerusalem WILL ALL FALL, will ALL be taken captive and deported to many nations. Jesus spoke about the time when ALL that is written will come to pass, in Luke 21. Note especially verses 20-24. The abomination of desolation (see Mat.24:15) is interpreted for us in Luke 21:20. No need for human interpretations that have led many into false prophetic teachings, the Lord Himself through Luke interprets it for us. The abomination that makes desolate is the end time event when Jerusalem is compassed about with armies. The armies of the LAST resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire, now rising in Europe, with Germany (Assyria) as its spear-head. This KING of the NORTH (Daniel 11:40) will strike against the King of the SOUTH (a united Arab empire) just before the Great Tribulation is to start, entering the last 42 months, 1260 days, of the book of Revelation. The King of the North will defeat the King of the South, but will not STOP there, this Beast Power, with a WOMAN church, and a miracle working false prophet will march into the Holy Land, will compass about the city of Jerusalem. Jesus says, when you see this happen, the people living in Jerusalem and Judah, had better FLEE to the hills, for "these be the days of VENGEANCE (JUDGMENT by God) that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (verse 22). As Jesus went on to say, there shall be WRATH and distress upon the land of Judah, they shall fall by the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled (verses 23-24). For 42 months, 1260 days (of Revelation) the Gentiles of the Europe Beast Power will tread down Jerusalem, when those days are fulfilled, the end of the age is about to come, and Jesus will return with the armies of heaven to fight the Beast, the False prophet, the armies of the East, at the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16). I covered in detail all this prophecy in the New Testament Bible Story as we went through the book of Revelation, on my website. But, there is MUCH prophecy in all the prophets of old, that expand and expound more of the details. The Great Tribulation BEGINS when Jerusalem is compassed about with the armies of the END TIME Assyria/Europe Empire - the LAST fulfilment of Isaiah 10 is that God will use the Assyria/German people to once more, for the THIRD time, come against the Jews, Judah, and the peoples of the House of Israel, the nations of North-West Europe, the British Commonwealth and the United States of America. This time around, the Assyrian/German nation will NOT be PUNISHED UNTIL AFTER it has been the battle ax in the hands of the Lord to PUNISH His people Israel and Judah!! THEN AFTER that punishment we read: Hope for the LORD's People; continuing with the New Living Translation: 20 Then at last those left in Israel and Judah (Heb. house of Jacob) will trust the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. They will no longer depend on the Assyrians, who would destroy them. 21 A REMNANT of them will return to the Mighty God. 22 But though the people of Israel are as numerous as the sand on the seashore, only a few of them will return at that time. The LORD has rightly decided to destroy his people. 23 Yes, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has already decided to consume them. 24 So this is what the Lord, the LORD Almighty, says: "My people in Jerusalem, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they oppress you just as the Egyptians did long ago. 25 It will not last for very long. In a little while my ANGER against you WILL END, and then my ANGER will RISE up to DESTROY THEM." 26 The Lord Almighty will beat them with His whip .... 27 In that day the Lord will END the BONDAGE of His people. He will BREAK the JOKE of SLAVERY and LIFT it from their shoulders. The words of Isaiah now go back to that present day of his day, in the fulfilment of the FIRST type marching of the Assyria war machine into Israel and Judah (verses 28-34). The Assyria army was coming, people were fleeing, running, terrified. The enemy shakes its fist at Mount Zion and Jerusalem, ready to destroy, but the Lord intervened in that day, and Assyria was not allowed to take Jerusalem. BUT it will not be so the SECOND TIME of fulfilment! Jerusalem will be compassed about by the Assyria/Europe armies, and it WILL FALL!! It will be the time when as Jesus said, ALL that is written SHALL COME TO PASS. Israel and Judah will be PUNISHED! God will need to do it for they will NOT it seems REPENT of their sins and iniquities and lawlessness. God will use an Empire that is NOW FORMING in Europe, an Empire that will have a great and mighty WOMAN CHURCH ruling and guiding it, a mighty false prophet that can work miracles! It will be an Empire spear-headed by the GREAT GERMAN NATION! After the Lord has used that mighty nation to punish His people, then for the stoutness and vanity of heart they have, the Almighty will punish Germany and Europe. This was brought out as I went through the book of Revelation, chapter 9, in the NT Bible Story. The men of the EAST, the GREAT Empires of Russia and China and those with them, will, after being attacked by the Holy Roman Empire of Europe, (the 5th TRUMPET sound) will counter-attack, and will kill and destroy a THIRD part of men (the 6th TRUMPET sound). Then we will have arrived at the 7th TRUMPET to sound, and the RETURN OF CHRIST to this earth, to put a stop to the wars that would, if not shortened, destroy all human flesh from off the planet (Mat.24:22). So, we then come to the WONDERFUL chapters of Isaiah 11 and 12. And we shall rejoice in them next time. .................. To be continued

5. Isaiah for Today

Chapters 11 to 22

CHAPTER ELEVEN Verse one (as all Bible students who study prophecy know) is talking about Jesus the Christ, you can reference this with Acts 13:22-23. He will come with the Spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom, and understanding, counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. He will help many to fear the Almighty as they should. He will not judge after His own mind, nor give correction after His own thoughts, as person of the physical flesh do in this world. But it is with RIGHTEOUSNESS He shall judge, and will reprove with justice, especially for the poor and humble of the world. He will have the power to SMITE the earth and with the words of His breath of mouth He will slay the wicked, as we see in Zechariah 14 when some nations may not want to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. Righteousness shall be the girdle of His lions, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins. Oh, how we need all of this on the earth. The nations of this earth are so far away from the TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE and KNOWLEDGE of the Lord. Even the so-called "Christian" nations are walking down the pathway that leads to deception, falsehood, and destruction. We have the wonderful prophetic promise that at THIS TIME, when the Messiah comes in power and glory, the WOLF shall dwell with the LAMB, the LEOPARD with shall lie down with the KID, and the CALF and the young LION together: a little CHILD shall lead them. The COW and the BEAR shall feed together: the LION shall eat straw like the OX. The child still feeding on the breast shall play with the poisonous asp and the weaned child will play with the adder. We have never seen anything like this in the history of the world, it is all yet to come, in the AGE TO COME, as the apostle Paul once called it. Also, a time that has never been known on earth since the garden in Eden, is a time when people will not HURT or DESTROY each other, for God says through Isaiah, that the EARTH SHALL BE FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA BEDS! (verses 1-9). The TIME of this prophecy is SET - it is when the Messiah comes to establish the Kingdom of God on earth! Nothing could be clearer! Now, in this time setting we see the following verses, right to the end of the chapter. "And in THAT DAY," (v.10) the root of Jesse - Christ Jesus - will stand for an ensign of the people, to Him shall the Gentiles seek and the REST, the peace, the salvation, of His Kingdom will be glorious. Yes, salvation will still go forth into all the world. Today is NOT the only day of salvation. Physical people will still live on into the 1,000 tears, people will marry and have children, salvation will go forth as never before. "And it shall come to pass in that day"(11) that the Lord shall set His hand again the SECOND time to recover the REMNANT of His people which are left in Assyria (Germany), from Egypt, from Pathros (upper Egypt), from Cush (Ethiopia), from Elam (Yugoslavia area), from Shinar (Iraq), from Hamath (Syria), and from the islands of the sea. He shall set up an ensign, and shall ASSEMBLE the OUTCASTS of Israel. And gather together the DISPERSED of Judah, from the FOUR CORNERS of the earth. You will clearly notice that Israel and Judah are just that - Israel and Judah, they have NOT YET become ONE since the days of the division after Solomon. They are at the very coming of Christ, SCATTERED into all parts of the earth, they have been destroyed as nations, and scattered as people, they are brought back together from the four corners of the earth by the return of Christ in glory to set up the Kingdom of God on earth. Israel and Judah will become ONE nation of people once more. This we also see CLEARLY given to us in Ezekiel 37, where you will notice again in Ezekiel chapters 34 to 36 the regathering of them from their captivity and dispersion. Everywhere in the Old Testament prophets, you find Israel and Judah in CAPTIVITY to their enemies, when the Messiah comes in glory. It is He who brings them out of the countries to which they have been scattered, and brings them as ONE people back to the Promised Land and Jerusalem. There shall be no more envy or division among them, they will be under the leadership of the Messiah, and all the saints of the resurrection (verses 11-13). What many do not understand is that MANY things will take place at the very time of the Messiah's coming in power and glory. From the day He comes, going into a period of days or weeks after He has come, and Israel and Judah are returning. He will use them to punish certain people as they journey back to the Promised Land. We see this in verse 14. "But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines (the Palestinians of the so-called "west-bank" or the nation of people known as the Palestinians). They shall spoil then of the east side of Jerusalem. Their hand shall be upon Edom (Turkey, as they come from parts of Europe and pass through Turkey, which in other prophecies have helped disperse Judah at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, which we shall see in other prophecies such as Obadiah and Ezekiel 25). They shall lay hands upon Moab and the children of Ammon shall obey them (this is the area of Jordan). The prophecies in Zechariah 12 and 13 tell about Judah FIGHTING at Jerusalem when the Messiah comes in power to set foot on the Mount of Olives in chapter 14. There will be miraculous miracles performed on the Egyptian sea and the seven streams of its delta and as it was in the first Exodus for Israel under Moses, so shall it be once more, only this time there will also be an MASSIVELY HUGE Exodus from the modern Assyria or Germany. An Exodus from the Europe Babylon Beast power of the end times (verses 14-16). None of this has happened in the history of Israel and Judah, the CONTEXT is clear and plain, if you read the Bible as a child, and simply believe what is written. There is MUCH to take place at the coming of Jesus the Messiah back to this earth. CHAPTER TWELVE "And it THAT DAY" (verse 1) Israel and Judah will SING for Joy. God is SALVATION, there will be TRUST and no fear. And in that day (verse 4) they will praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings among the people of the earth. The inhabitants of Zion will cry out in joyful praise that THE Holy One of Israel is in THE MIDST OF THEM!! CHAPTER THIRTEEN We now go back in the prophetic time table. Prophecy is often like that, a back and forth of the whole story of the end times. Now we are back to a prophecy given to BABYLON! We do have an END TIME Babylon as Revelation 17 and 18 shows. This prophecy is also contained in Jeremiah 50 and 51 - the DAUGHTER of Babylon (Jer.51:33) and note verses 6,7-9,33,45 with Revelation 17 and 18. There is clearly an end time Babylon, that is to destroy much of the world, and certainly to destroy and take captive the modern House of Israel and the House of Judah at the very last 42 months or 1260 days of this age, those length of times mentioned in the book of Revelation. God speaks to this Babylon. He has commanded His "sanctified ones" - His human army of mighty ones to bring forth His anger on the Babylon of the last resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire with a Woman church guiding it all. What you see forming and shaping in Europe today is that end time Babylon. God's army will come from afar, even the end of heaven. Yes, it will be the army of the EAST, all the way to China and Japan, and North from Russia. The prophecy is for "the DAY OF THE LORD" (verse 6) - the time of the very end, probably the very last YEAR of this age, before Jesus returns. It is DESTRUCTION from the almighty! Behold the DAY OF THE LORD comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and destroy the sinners out of it. It is the time of the HEAVENLY SIGNS that Jesus gave as well as Joel the prophet. Notice it in Mat.24:29 30; Joel 2:30,31. Here in verse 10 we read: "For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." God says He will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquities, the arrogancy of the proud shall cease, and haughtiness of the terrible made low. And the Lord says He will make mankind more precious than fine gold - NOT MANY WILL BE LEFT ALIVE as in comparison to the population of today! The heavens will be SHAKEN, and the earth shall be REMOVED out of her place, in the WRATH of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His FIERCE ANGER! (verses 9-13). We are in the setting of the book of Revelation chapter 9 and the 6th TRUMPET. The armies of the kings of the EAST will come against the Europe Beast power. A THIRD (of what is left to this point) of mankind will be killed by this army from the East. Babylon is to be punished for her sins and false deceptions that have deceived the whole world. The Great WOMAN church and her end time false prophet and political/military man beast are to face the armies of the coming Messiah at Armageddon (Revelation 16). But first the Babylon/Europe Empire is to face the anger of God through His army He will use from the East. The description of what God will do is given in verses 15,16 of this chapter of Isaiah. There will be no mercy from the army of the Medes, the East power of Russia and China (verses 14-17). And Babylon, the GLORY of Kingdoms, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 19). There is a two-fold fulfilment of this prophecy. Certainly old Babylon was destroyed, and has never come close to being rebuilt. It was to remain a desolate place, and it did for many centuries. Could a modern nation undertake to bring back some of its glory? Yes, probably could. I do not believe this was to be a "forever" prophecy per se. It was in the first fulfilment to be destroyed and for a very long time, a desolation, and it has been indeed. The last FULFILMENT IS THE IMPORTANT ONE! There was a Babylon Empire and there was a Babylon "city" - so also at the end time. There is a modern Babylon of a false confusion of religion in Europe, with a modern Babylon city - the very city of ROME! There has never been a city that has brought forth so much RELIGIOUS DECEPTION on the world as the city of Rome. It truly is the most influential city in religion in the world. And all false teaching and doctrine have come from her and her daughter church that came out of her in protest, but maintained many of her false teachings in one form or another. At the time of this prophecy during the coming day of the Lord, she, this city of Rome, will be destroyed, from generation to generation during the 1,000 years of the age to come. Not one person will live there, but the animals. It will remind people all during the 1,000 years what a mighty deceptive religious city she was. History will still be taught in schools, and Rome will be known as the city of Babylon, the originator of all religious falsehoods and deceptions. It will be very fitting that she remains a desolate wilderness till the coming of the New heavens and the New earth at the end of the 1,000 years. In the destruction of this end time Babylon Empire and her city set on seven hills, there will be DELIVERANCE for the peoples of Israel and Judah, as we next move back to that promise of God in the first verses of chapter 14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Lord will have mercy on Jacob (Israel as his name was changed to). God will yet choose Israel (all 13 tribes) and others will join themselves to them as they hear that the Lord is with them. As Israel and Judah return to their Promised Land they will actually fight against those who held them captive, and shall rule over their oppressors. They will be given rest and peace from their sorrow and hard bondage they lived under during their captivity in the lands of their enemies during that 42 months of the last years of this age (verse 1-3). Now the prophecy switches to a TAUNTING of the king of Babylon. The golden city Empire is ceased! The Empire that ruled the nations is broken in God's anger. The whole earth is at REST, and people SINGING, as we enter the 1,000 years. Notice the time setting, verse 9. The GRAVE is MOVED for THEE to MEET THEE AT THY COMING. The DEAD are RAISED! The ones who will be the Kings of the nations - the very saints of God (Rev.5:10), will RISE in the resurrection at the time of Jesus' return. Those saints will look on Babylon and its king and say it has become like they were - DEAD! The force behind this last king of modern Babylon will be Satan the Devil. Satan will yet try one last time to march up to heaven and push God off His throne (Revelation 12) but he will be cast down once more as he was a long time ago in the past ages. He will not succeed in his fight to rule the universe and sit on the throne of God. He will not succeed to be like the Most High. He shall be brought down, and the physical king he will control at the end time will be brought down to hell or the grave. This is all told to us in Revelation 12:7-17 (where Satan is cast out of heaven and goes to make one last war against the saints of God which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ); and 19:11-21 where the physical man beast is taken and thrown into the lake of fire. There will be no "burial" of this man leader, for he has destroyed much people and lands. He is not to be honored with a burial, he will be cast alive into the lake of fire at the coming of the Messiah. Babylon will be cut off; great destruction will come on them just as they greatly destroyed, and the city of Babylon, the modern Rome, will be cleaned with a destruction that will leave it like a wilderness (verses 4-23). Notice in verse 24-27, God just out of nowhere it seems, goes back to speaking about ASSYRIA and how He will overthrow it, and the YOKE shall depart from off His people, and the whole earth shall be judged, and the nations upon it. God purposed it, no one can disannul it. So is it His purpose and so it is written and so it shall come to pass! Why go from Babylon to Assyria. Well the answer to that is found in Ezekiel 23: 22-24. The context is about the two sisters - Samaria (Israel) and Judah (Jerusalem) - the Babylonians and the Assyrians, a COMPANY will come upon them to destroy. Please read the whole context of these chapters in Ezekiel. Note chapter 21:14 of Ezekiel also, the sword is to come THE THIRD TIME on His people, Israel and Judah. The THIRD TIME it is Babylon and Assyria and others in a COMPANY of people that will come against the two sisters - Israel and Judah. The united (feet and toes of clay and iron - Daniel 2 image) Europe, resurrected Holy Roman Empire of Babylon Mystery Religion and the Great German nation of ancient Assyria, will come against the nations of Israel in the West and the peoples of the Jews in the nation of Israel in the land of Jerusalem. It will be ONE large EMPIRE of Babylon and Assyria at the end time all coming from the same general location of the earth - Middle and East Europe, who will punish Israel and Judah, and then themselves be punished by the army from the East. But the man beast (with the false prophet) shall have some of their armies already in the Middle East, and with TEN kings from their Empire, they shall, with armies from the East also, try and fight Jesus at His coming - Revelation 16 and 17 and 19. This political king of the Babylon/Assyria/Europe power will be taken by Christ and cast into the lake of fire, and so during and after the battle of Armageddon, the nations of the earth will have God's hand stretched out on them to judge them and finally bring them under the rulership of the Kingdom of God on earth. In the next verses of Isaiah chapter fourteen and in the next chapter up to and including chapter 23, we have prophecies regarding a number of nations on the earth. Verses 28-32 is a prophecy for Palestina, chapter 15 is for Moab; chapter 16 for Moab; chapter 17 for Damascus and Syria; chapter 18 for Ethiopia; chapter 19 for Egypt; chapter 20 for both Egypt and Ethiopia. There was a FIRST fulfilment of these prophecies, and some of the details are contained in these chapters. For the historical past fulfilment I ask you to study the various Bible Commentaries such as Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes. We need to realize that the people spoken about in these chapters are STILL existing today, and there will be an END TIME fulfilment of these prophecies during the last 3 or so years of the end of this age. Palestina is the Palestine people of today, they are also Philistia of Ezekiel 25:15-17 who are also the Philistines. The Palestine people are the descendants of the Philistines the great enemy of the Israelites is past history. When Judah goes into captivity at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, the Palestine people will help long the destruction and captivity of the Jews in the land we call Israel today. God will not forget the evil they will yet do, and they shall be punished. God will indeed punish the remnant of the sea coast (Ezek.25:16). We saw back in Isaiah 11:10-16 that when Israel and Judah are delivered out of captivity at the coming of Christ, they will return from many of the nations to the north where they have been taken captive by the Europe Beast Babylon Power, and as they return to Palestine - the Promised Land - they will fight against and punish the Palestinians (notes Isa.11:14). CHAPTER FIFTEEN TO EIGHTEEN This is a prophecy for Moab, who are today the people of Jordan. Those people will be laid waste and brought to silence (verse 1). They will gird themselves with sackcloth and there will be much weeping. There shall be famine, the grass faileth, no green thing, waters will be blood. Certainly fits in with some of the end time prophecies in the book of Revelation. Ezekiel 25:8-11 says that because they will have no pity on the Jews of the Promised Land when they go into captivity, so God shall give Moab, the people of Jordan to the power of the East. And further, as Israel and Judah return to the Promised Land when Jesus comes again, they will lay hands on Moab - Jordan. God's Israelite outcasts will dwell in the land of Moab (Isa.16: 4). That part of the prophecy will happen when verse 5 is fulfilled. When "in mercy shall the throne be established: He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness." This is Christ Jesus sitting on the throne of David, establishing judgment and righteousness in the earth. The people of Jordan are proud and haughty, but the gladness and joy shall be taken away, no singing in the vineyards. WITHIN THREE YEARS punishment will come upon the people of Jordan and they shall be left very small and feeble in numbers. All this is within the last 42 months or 1260 days or the last 3 and 1/2 years of the end times as given in the book of Revelation. The Middle East, Jerusalem, the Promised Land, is to be the CENTRE of the prophetic world at the end time. Daniel 11:40 begins the last days prophecy. The King of the North - a resurrected Holy Roman/Babylon Empire of Europe will arise in might and power. There will be an end time UNITED Arab Empire led by Egypt (so we must yet see Egypt come back as a large Arab power), who will be the "king of the South" of Daniel 11:40. This King of the South shall "push at" (in some way, which we are not told) the King of the North. Europe will come marching down into battle with the King of the South. Europe, the Beast Power of Revelation, will win the battle, and will take Egypt, Ethiopia and march into the Holy Land. But at the same time the MIGHTY EAST Empire (Russia and China and India) will not sit back and be doing nothing. They will send their armies into the Holy Land. Moab or Jordan and some other parts of Palestine will become their possession as all this drama of the NOW ONLY TWO MIGHTY FORCES on earth, start to face each other. We are told in Isaiah 17 that Damascus and Syria will have their glory and splendor taken away, just as Israel and Judah had their glory taken away. All nations in the Middle East are now up for grabs either by the Europe Beast Empire or the East Empire of Russia/China. Then Isaiah goes back to talk about Israel or Jacob (all 13 tribes) in verse 4 of chapter 17. But the whole context is for all people of the earth. Some people will survive as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost branches (v.6). It is a way of saying that the majority of mankind will perish during this last 3 years of this age before Jesus comes again. In that day the Lord says, "shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel." Again a way of saying the judgment of the whole earth has come, it is the time for the last 3 years (with Daniel 12 and the days he was given in prophecy it will be the last 1,335 days) of this age, when by the time it is all over the majority of the people left will indeed start to look to their Maker. It will be the time when mankind will have seen that of themselves they only brought the earth to the brink of total destruction of all life. God says in verse 12, "Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like that of the sea...." In verse 13 the Lord goes on to say. "The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind." Whatever the nations have done to each other and to Israel and Judah, they will have their reward, they will also be punished, they also will face the judgment of God as He unfolds the DAY OF THE LORD upon them, the day of the GREAT WRATH OF THE ALMIGHTY, as we see in the last verse of Revelation 6:17 and the rest of the mind-bending prophecies of that book, which indeed will devastate this earth in a way never before seen, and thank God, never will be seen again. Isaiah 18 is a message to Ethiopia. Please read it in a modern translation. There is to be PUNISHMENT on Ethiopia, and that we see also on Daniel 11:40 as stated above. Yet when God blows the TRUMPET (verse 3) - THE LAST trumpet, then the world will hear and KNOW that God is coming to RULE the earth. Then in time as the Kingdom of God is established above all the mountains (other nations) of the earth, Ethiopia and all nations will "bring the gift to the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem, Zion, the place where His name dwells (verse 7). CHAPTER NINETEEN The prophecy for Egypt, as also found in books like Ezekiel (chap.29 to 32). Egypt is Egypt in prophecy. That nation is to come yet again to the forefront on the world scene. For now (in the year 2008) it is in the background, but it is yet to come forth in mighty and political force, at least in the Arab world. (And it all started to revive in 2011). So prophecy is held back by the Lord for the present. Until Egypt takes a powerful role in the Arab world, prophecy will be only slowly taking shape. We wait yet for Egypt to take her place on the world scene. She will one day, in God's time. She will lead an Arab Empire, the King of the South of Daniel 11:40-45 (And Egypt rising again has started in 2011) God will give Egypt over to a cruel lord, and a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord (v.4). It will be a time when waters fail from the sea, and the river dried up, and there shall be devastation. There is no wisdom in Egypt. There is a perverse spirit that will cause Egypt to err in her work as a man drunk staggers in his vomit (v.11-15). The day will come when Egypt shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the land when the Lord sends the King of the North against her and her Arab confederate nations (v.16). Yet beyond all the fighting and destruction of war and the plagues of the book of Revelation, there is to be a better age for Egypt. After Judah has been a trouble to Egypt on its way back to the Holy Land at Christ's coming (see chap.11:10-15 once more), in THAT DAY, the age to come as Jesus returns to deliver Judah from captivity, there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord. Egypt will CRY OUT in that day, for the oppression of the evil of the world. Egypt may take a while to fully surrender its will to the Lord Jesus, as we see in Zechariah 14; they may rebel at having to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Lord may have to send a plague of no rain. They will be oppressed indeed with punishment from the Lord for not obeying Him, but they will finally CRY OUT! God will show them a Savior has come, a Great One, and through Him there is DELIVERANCE from sin and death and sorrow and pain (verses 17-20). And it shall come to pass that "...the Lord shall be know to Egypt and the Egyptians shall KNOW the LORD GOD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yes, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. The Lord shall smite Egypt: He shall SMITE and HEAL: and they shall turn even to the Lord, and He shall be entreated of them, and shall HEAL THEM!" (verses 21-22). The day is coming that the people of GERMANY - the people of EGYPT - the people of ISRAEL (fully united as 13 tribes) shall dwell together in harmony and peace. They shall be LIGHTS to the world. Here it is: "In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptian shall serve WITH the Assyrian. IN THAT DAY shall Israel be a THIRD with Egypt and with Assyria, even a BLESSING in the midst of the land. Whom the Lord of hosts shall BLESS, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel Mine inheritance" (verses 23-25). This has NEVER TAKEN PLACE! Such LOVE and BLESSING among the ancient peoples here mentioned NEVER took place. THIS IS A PROPHECY FOR THE FUTURE, for the end time, when prophecy will be repeated in the modern world of the space age. When God has accomplished what He wills with the descendants of Assyria (the Germany people) with the descendants of Egypt (the Egyptians today) and with the descendants of Israel (the nations of North-West Europe, the British Commonwealth and the United States of America), THEN after that is all done and finished with, the Eternal will make the prophecy of verses 23 to 25 COME TO PASS! That will be in the GLORIOUS AGE TO COME, when the Christ has returned and the Kingdom of God is established on earth for one thousand years and then forever more in the New heaven and the New earth (Revelation 20 to 22). CHAPTER TWENTY Isaiah was to walk naked, well maybe his outer garment of sackcloth is here meant, and no shoes. He was to be a sign to Egypt and Ethiopia, that the Assyria was to come against Egypt, and there was to be no escape from the defeat of battle for Egypt. So it will be once more at the end time, as foretold in Daniel 11:40-45. The King of the North, the Europe Beast Power, will come against the King of the South, Egypt and her Arab confederate associates. Then when that has all happened, at the beginning of the last 42 months of this age, then during the Day of the Lord, the time of the day of God's wrath, probably about one year in length, then the Europe Babylon will face her punishment from the army beyond the Euphrates, the army of the mighty EAST and NORTH powers of Russian and China and India and Japan. For they will come as written in Revelation 9:13-19 to kill a THIRD part of mankind that is left on the earth at this time of the final Day of the Lord. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE There is an ancient Babylon and a MODERN END-TIME Babylon in the prophecies of your Bible. We have come to Isaiah 21 and Babylon is to FALL. Isaiah sees it all in vision - a grievous vision. It will not be a pleasant day when MODERN Babylon falls during the Day of the Lord. It is all told to us in Revelation 18. The last end-time Babylon will be a mighty TRADING Empire, Many will be made rich and wealthy by her. She will sit as a Queen, saying she is not a widow and shall see no sorrow. Her punishment and plagues will come in one day, probably one literal day, but certainly a very short time. The kings of the earth will commit spiritual fornication with her, for she shall be a mighty religious power with a false prophet at her head, who will be able to work miracles. The Merchants of the earth will stand a far off and weep and wail for her destruction. In one short "hour" her riches will come to nothing. The sea ships of trading and all in that sea faring trading will stand a far off and moan when they see her burning and smoke of destruction. They will cast dust upon heir heads in sorrow, upon her demise. But the people of God and the host of heaven are to REJOICE! The Great city Babylon is thrown down!! All is foretold in the book of Revelation. The actual destruction is told in Revelation chapter 9 and the 6th TRUMPET. The kings and armies of the EAST will come against the end-time last resurrected Holy Roman Empire of Europe. The destruction shall cause ONE THIRD of the remaining population of the world to die! It is the final long awaited destruction of the POWER that has for over a THOUSAND YEARS brought DECEPTION to the world. and the has poured out the blood of the SAINTS of God (Rev.18:23-24). Isaiah 21:11-17 is a prophecy towards Edom or modern Turkey and many of the Arab world. You may like to read this from the Amplified Bible. It is the prophecy of Obadiah. When those in Judah - the Holy Land have to flee because of the destruction coming from the King of the North who has marched into the land and surrounded Jerusalem, the people of Turkey will only hinder the people of God as they flee. Turkey will not go unpunished. We shall see all that in full detail in the book of Obadiah, when I get to it. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Isaiah is still in vision and he sees the burden and destruction of Jerusalem. Isaiah weeps bitterly because of the spoiling of the daughter of his people (v.4). The day of trouble has arrived, a day of treading down from the Lord God, a breaking down of the walls of defense, and a crying as people flee to the mountains as Jesus said they should (see Luke 21:20-24). The valleys shall be full of armies, who shall set themselves against the city gates, they know where and how to attack. They know all the houses and all Jerusalem, they have the detail maps to destroy. It is now the day of weeping, mourning, baldness, girding with sackcloth. It truly is a time for many to say, "Let's eat, drink and party, for tomorrow we die" (verses 4-13). It is the time for iniquity to be purged from Judah, but in so doing there will be much death and sorrow (v.14). The man here in verse 15-25 is only a type of THE MAN that is to come, the Son of man, the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah Christ. The Government of God will be committed unto Him, He shall be a "father" to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the House of Judah. He will deal with them as a loving father. He will rescue, deliver, and save them. They will KNOW Him, will acknowledge He is the Messiah. We see all this wonderfully explained in the last chapters of the prophet Zechariah - chapter 12 to 13. The Messiah Jesus will have the KEY OF DAVID (see Revelation 3:7); He can OPEN and no one can SHUT, He has the key of Salvation and the open door of the Father's will to be done on earth, for 1,000 years (verse 22). We are again brought forward to the reign of Jesus Christ on earth and the restoring of Israel and Judah. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE The prophecy concerning mighty TYRE, the type once more of the end-time BABYLON of EUROPE! Prophecy in the book of Isaiah moves BACK AND FORTH, from the time of the captivity of Israel and Judah to the punishment of Babylon/Assyria, to the rising and power of the end time Babylon, to the destruction thereof; to the coming of the Power from the East, to the last battle of the 10 kings of the last Roman Empire, to the victory of Jesus over the nations, to the resurrection of the saints, to the Kingdom of God established upon the earth. We move BACK AND FORTH among all this last 42 months, 1260 days, a time, and times, and dividing of a time, as recorded in the book of Revelation. ............. To be continued

6. ISAIAH FOR TODAY and TOMORROW

WHAT IS HERE PROPHESIED IS FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD OR THE DAY OF GOD'S WRATH, STARTING IN REVELATION CHAPTER 7 - Keith Hunt

New Living Translation

Destruction of the Earth

24 Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth
    and make it a vast wasteland.
He devastates the surface of the earth
    and scatters the people.
2 Priests and laypeople,
    servants and masters,
    maids and mistresses,
    buyers and sellers,
    lenders and borrowers,
    bankers and debtors—none will be spared.
3 The earth will be completely emptied and looted.
    The Lord has spoken!

THE LAST SENTENCE IS "A GENERAL STATEMENT" FOR LATER IT SAYS "ONLY A FEW ARE LEFT ALIVE" AND THAT IS RELATIVE; THERE WILL BE MILLIONS BUT COMPARED TO TRILLIONS AS TODAY, THAT IS FEW IN CONTRAST.

4 The earth mourns and dries up,
    and the land wastes away and withers.
    Even the greatest people on earth waste away.
5 The earth suffers for the sins of its people,
    for they have twisted God’s instructions,
violated his laws,
    and broken his everlasting covenant.
6 Therefore, a curse consumes the earth.
    Its people must pay the price for their sin.
They are destroyed by fire,
    and only a few are left alive.
7 The grapevines waste away,
    and there is no new wine.
    All the merrymakers sigh and mourn.
8 The cheerful sound of tambourines is stilled;
    the happy cries of celebration are heard no more.
    The melodious chords of the harp are silent.
9 Gone are the joys of wine and song;
    alcoholic drink turns bitter in the mouth.
10 The city writhes in chaos;
    every home is locked to keep out intruders.
11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.
    Joy has turned to gloom.
    Gladness has been banished from the land.
12 The city is left in ruins,
    its gates battered down.

JERUSALEM THAT IS

13 Throughout the earth the story is the same—
    only a remnant is left,
like the stray olives left on the tree
    or the few grapes left on the vine after harvest.

14 But all who are left shout and sing for joy.
    Those in the west praise the Lord’s majesty.
15 In eastern lands, give glory to the Lord.
    In the lands beyond the sea, praise the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.
16 We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth,
    songs that give glory to the Righteous One!

SOME AT THAT TIME, IN THE DAY OF THE LORD, WILL GIVE PRAISE TO HIM.

But my heart is heavy with grief.
    Weep for me, for I wither away.
Deceit still prevails,
    and treachery is everywhere.
17 Terror and traps and snares will be your lot,
    you people of the earth.
18 Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap,
    and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare.

Destruction falls like rain from the heavens;
    the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth has broken up.
    It has utterly collapsed;
    it is violently shaken.
20 The earth staggers like a drunk.
    It trembles like a tent in a storm.
It falls and will not rise again,
    for the guilt of its rebellion is very heavy.

21 In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens
    and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.
22 They will be rounded up and put in prison.
    They will be shut up in prison
    and will finally be punished.

IT IS INDEED THE DAY OF GOD'S WRATH [REVELATION 6: 17]

23 Then the glory of the moon will wane,
and the brightness of the sun will fade,

THE GREAT HEAVENLY SIGNS [REVELATION 6 AND THE 6TH SEAL. THE HEAVENLY SIGNS JESUS GAVE AFTER THE GREAT TRIBULATION [MATTHEW 24]

for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.
He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,
in the sight of all the leaders of his people.

AND THE DAY OF THE LORD MOVES INTO THE RETURN OF CHRIST THE MESSIAH, RULING IN JERUSALEM, IN THE SIGHT OF THE LEADERS OF GOD'S PEOPLE ISRAEL [ALL 12 TRIBES].

O YES PRAISE THE LORD INDEED. FINALLY THE AGE TO COME HAS ARRIVED!!!

.................

ISAIAH FOR TODAY and TOMORROW

New Living Translation

Praise for Judgment and Salvation

25 O Lord, I will honor and praise your name,
    for you are my God.
You do such wonderful things!
    You planned them long ago,
    and now you have accomplished them.
2 You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins.
    Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble.
Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear
    and will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory;
    ruthless nations will fear you.

4 But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord,
    a tower of refuge to the needy in distress.
You are a refuge from the storm
    and a shelter from the heat.
For the oppressive acts of ruthless people
    are like a storm beating against a wall,
5     or like the relentless heat of the desert.
But you silence the roar of foreign nations.
    As the shade of a cloud cools relentless heat,
    so the boastful songs of ruthless people are stilled.

6 In Jerusalem,[a] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will spread a wonderful feast
    for all the people of the world.
It will be a delicious banquet
    with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.
7 There he will remove the cloud of gloom,
    the shadow of death that hangs over the earth.
8 He will swallow up death forever!
    The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.
He will remove forever all insults and mockery
    against his land and people.
    The Lord has spoken!

9 In that day the people will proclaim,
“This is our God!
    We trusted in him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord, in whom we trusted.
    Let us rejoice in the salvation he brings!”
10 For the Lord’s hand of blessing will rest on Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM IS NOT YET REJOICING IN THE SALVATION OF GOD; THEY STILL REJECT JESUS AS THE MESSIAH. WHEN HE COMES AGAIN THEY WILL AS MANY OTHER PROPHETS FORETELL SAY, "THIS IS OUR GOD."

THE LAST CHAPTERS OF ZECHARIAH GIVE IT ALL IN SOME DETAIL.

But Moab [Jordan— KH] will be crushed.
    It will be like straw trampled down and left to rot.
11 God will push down Moab’s people
    as a swimmer pushes down water with his hands.
He will end their pride
    and all their evil works.
12 The high walls of Moab will be demolished.
    They will be brought down to the ground,
    down into the dust.

ALL THAT GOD HAS PLANED FROM LONG AGO WILL COME TO PASS.

THIS IS A REJOICING AT THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND THE SALVATION HE BRINGS.

THERE WILL BE GREAT FEASTING SHORTLY AFTER THE MESSIAH JESUS DEFEATS THE ENEMY AT THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON [REVELATION 16].

IT IS ALSO THE PROPHECY AGAINST MOAB— THE JORDAN PEOPLE OF TODAY. READ AGAIN CHAPTER 11 AND VERSE 10-14. READ THE CONTEXT BEFORE AND AFTER. IT IS THE TIME THE MESSIAH REGATHERS ISRAEL AND JUDAH. THEY WILL RETURN TO THE HOLY LAND AND INFLICT DEFEAT UPON NATIONS IN THE VICINITY OF WHAT IS NOW THE HOLY LAND.

Keith Hunt

ISAIAH FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

Isaiah 26

New Living Translation

A Song of Praise to the Lord

THE CONTEXT IS STILL THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH AND THE NEW AGE - Keith Hunt

26 In that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song:

Our city is strong!
    We are surrounded by the walls of God’s salvation.
2 Open the gates to all who are righteous;
    allow the faithful to enter.
3 You will keep in perfect peace
    all who trust in you,
    all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
4 Trust in the Lord always,
    for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
5 He humbles the proud
    and brings down the arrogant city.
    He brings it down to the dust.
6 The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot,
    and the needy walk all over it.

7 But for those who are righteous,
    the way is not steep and rough.
You are a God who does what is right,
    and you smooth out the path ahead of them.

8 Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws;
    our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.
9 In the night I search for you;
    in the morning[a] I earnestly seek you.
For only when you come to judge the earth
    will people learn what is right.

10 Your kindness to the wicked [In being patient with them -Keith Hunt]
    does not make them do good.

Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong
    and take no notice of the Lord’s majesty.

11 O Lord, they pay no attention to your upraised fist.
    Show them your eagerness to defend your people.
Then they will be ashamed.
    Let your fire consume your enemies.

GOD WILL DELIVER ISRAEL AND JUDAH FROM THEIR ENEMIES WHEN THE MESSIAH COMES; THIS IS REPEATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE BOOKS OF THE PROPHETS; I REFER YOU ONCE MORE TO THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER.

12 Lord, you will grant us peace;
    all we have accomplished is really from you.
13 O Lord our God, others have ruled us,
    but you alone are the one we worship.
14 Those we served before are dead and gone.
    Their departed spirits will never return!
You attacked them and destroyed them,
    and they are long forgotten.

THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH HAVE BEEN DEFEATED; THEY ARE DEAD. YOU HAVE ATTACKED THEM AND DESTROYED THEM. THE MESSIAH DEFEATS THEM AT ARMAGEDDON; THEIR INWARD SPIRITS [MAN DOES HAVE A SPIRIT; I'VE EXPLAINED IT IN ANOTHER STUDY ON MY WEBSITE]; THEY ARE DESTROYED AND FORGOTTEN.

15 O Lord, you have made our nation great;
    yes, you have made us great.
You have extended our borders,
    and we give you the glory!

THIS LOOKS TO THE DAY THAT ALL ISRAEL WILL BE A GREAT SINGLE NATION IN THE AGE TO COME; AND THE HOLY LAND WILL BE AS PROMISED  TO ABRAHAM, HUGE IS SIZE COMPARED TO IT TODAY.

16 Lord, in distress we searched for you.
    We prayed beneath the burden of your discipline.
17 Just as a pregnant woman
    writhes and cries out in pain as she gives birth,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We, too, writhe in agony,
    but nothing comes of our suffering.
We have not given salvation to the earth,
    nor brought life into the world.

AT THE TIME OF THE END OF THIS AGE, WHEN ISRAEL AND JUDAH ARE IN PAINFUL DISTRESS, AS A WOMAN GIVING BIRTH ARE OFTEN IN PAIN; WE SHALL WRITHE IN AGONY FOR A WHILE, THOUGH AT THAT TIME WE WILL SEE NO GOOD OUTCOME. WE THEN WILL BRING NO SALVATION TO THE WORD.

19 But those who die in the Lord will live;
    their bodies will rise again!
Those who sleep in the earth
    will rise up and sing for joy!
For your life-giving light will fall like dew
    on your people in the place of the dead!

HERE IS ONE SECTION OF OLD TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURE, THAT TEACHES THE SAINTS OF GOD WILL BE RESURRECTED. AND DEATH IS A SLEEP, AS JESUS IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN ALSO TALKED ABOUT DEATH AS A SLEEP. YES I KNOW THE TEACHING THAT SAINTS DIE AND GO TO HEAVEN WITH NO BODY, BUT RECEIVE ONE WHEN THE MESSIAH COMES. THAT IS THE DAFTEST, SILLIEST, THE DUMBEST IDEA FROM PLANET PLUTO. WHAT PEOPLE WILL COME UP WITH TO GET TO HEAVEN, AND JESUS SAID IN JOHN 3:13 NO PERSON HAS GONE TO HEAVEN, BUT HE ALONE. YET THESE CRAZY THEOLOGICAL TEACHERS THINK THEY KNOW BETTER THAN JESUS. GIVER ME A BREAK!

TIME OF TROUBLE - WRATH OF GOD - RESURRECTION

20 Go home, my people,
and lock your doors!
Hide yourselves for a little while
until the Lord’s anger has passed.

AGAIN THE TIME OF GOD'S WRATH, THE DAY OF THE LORD.

21 Look! The Lord is coming from heaven
to punish the people of the earth for their sins.

The earth will no longer hide those who have been killed.
They will be brought out for all to see.

THE GREAT FIRST RESURRECTION [MATTHEW 24; 1 CORINTHIANS 15; 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18; REVELATION 20]

ISAIAH FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

Isaiah 27

New Living Translation

27 IN THAT DAY

NOTICE IT! WE ARE STILL IN THE SAME PROPHETIC TIME AS WE HAVE BEEN IN PAST CHAPTERS.

IT IS UNMISTAKEABLE. GOD COULD NOT HAVE MADE IT SIMPLER. BUT PEOPLE READ RIGHT OVER IT LIKE IT'S NOT THERE. IT IS CONTEXT, CONTEXT, AND MORE CONTEXT!

SO IN THAT DAY, IN THAT TIME FRAME, IN THAT SAME CONTEXT———

the Lord will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan,[a] the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.

A TYPE OF THE GREAT DRAGON, THAT OLD SERPENT, SATAN THE DEVIL. THE TIME HAS COME IN HISTORY TO CHAIN UP SATAN IN THE PIT, TO DECEIVE THE NATIONS NO MORE DURING THE AGE TO COME [REVELATION 20].

2 “In that day,
    sing about the fruitful vineyard.
3 I, the Lord, will watch over it,
    watering it carefully.
Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.
4     My anger will be gone.
If I find briers and thorns growing,
    I will attack them;
I will burn them up—
5     unless they turn to me for help.
Let them make peace with me;
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

REPENTANCE IS THERE FOR ALL TO TAKE. ISRAEL AND JUDAH NOW ONE PEOPLE, A FRUITFUL VINE ONCE MORE. GOD'S WRATH IS GONE; HE WILL TENDERLY KEEP AND GROOM HIS PEOPLE OF JACOB/ISRAEL [THE 12 TRIBES] IF SIN SHOULD COME AMONG THEM, IT WILL BE ROOTED OUT, BURNED UP, UNLESS THEY TURN TO GOD IN REPENTANCE. YES THEY STILL CAN MAKE PEACE WITH THE ETERNAL GOD.

6 The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit!

THIS IS IN THE TIME OF THAT DAY; THE CONTEXT WE HAVE BEEN IN FOR CHAPTERS. JACOB'S DESCENDANTS AT THE END TIME WILL BE IN DESOLATION!
EVERYWHERE IN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY, WHEN JESUS THE MESSIAH RETURNS, THE PEOPLE OF JACOB [ALL 12 TRIBES] WILL BE IN DESOLATION  CAPTIVITY TO THEIR LOVER ENEMIES, THE LAST EUROPEAN  7TH RESURRECTION OF THE BABYLON/HOLY ROME EMPIRE!
BUT JESUS WILL BRING THEM OUT OF THAT CAPTIVITY. THEY WILL RETURN TO THE HOLY LAND AND BLOSSOM AND BUD AND FILL THE WHOLE EARTH WITH SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL FRUIT.
THEY WILL FINALLY BE WHAT THEY WERE CHOSEN BY THE LORD TO BE— DEUTERONOMY 4— A LIGHT OF GOD'S TRUTH AND LAWS, AND ABUNDANT LIVING, SO OTHER NATIONS WOULD WANT TO KNOW THE TRUE GOD.

7 Has the Lord struck Israel
    as he struck her enemies?
Has he punished her
    as he punished them?

NO, OTHER NATIONS WILL BE PUNISHED MORE THAN ISRAEL.

8 No, but he exiled Israel to call her to account.
    She was exiled from her land
    as though blown away in a storm from the east.
9 The Lord did this to purge Israel’s[b] wickedness,
    to take away all her sin.

THE PUNISHMENT ON ISRAEL [ALL 12 TRIBES] AT THE END TIME WAS FOR HER SINS, SHE IS REFUSING TO REPENT FROM— IT IS TO PURGE HER FROM SINS AND WICKEDNESS.

As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust.
    No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing.
10 The fortified towns will be silent and empty,
    the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds.
Calves will graze there,
    chewing on twigs and branches.
11 The people are like the dead branches of a tree,
    broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots.

ISRAEL AT THE END TIMES WILL BE PURGED OF FALSE PAGAN RELIGION; IT SEEMS THAT A HEAVY HAND IS THE ONLY WAY SHE WILL REPENT.

Israel is a foolish and stupid nation,
    for its people have turned away from God.
Therefore, the one who made them
    will show them no pity or mercy.

LOOK AT THE NATIONS OF NORTH-WEST EUROPE, THE CELTIC-ANGLO-SAXON BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, AND THE USA. I WAS RAISED IN THE 1942 TO 1959 FINISHING HIGH-SCHOOL. GOD AND THE BIBLE SINCE THEN HAS BEEN THROWN OUT THE WINDOW; EVOLUTION HAS TAKEN OVER THE SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES; WE ARE BECOMING MORE SECULAR EVERY MONTH AND YEAR.  AND THE JEWS ARE MAINLY SECULAR, THOSE THAT ARE RELIGIOUS STILL WILL NOT ACCEPT JESUS AS THE MESSIAH.

12 Yet the time will come when the Lord will gather them together like handpicked grain. One by one he will gather them—from the Euphrates River[c] in the east to the Brook of Egypt in the west.13

A SECOND EXODUS IS COMING RIGHT AT THE TIME OF THE RETURNING OF CHRIST JESUS THE MESSIAH, AS WE HAVE SEEN IN CHAPTER 11.

In that day the great trumpet will sound.

YES THE 7TH AND LAST TRUMPET OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION CHAPTER 11. WHEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL COME TO EARTH.

Many who were dying in exile in Assyria and Egypt will return to Jerusalem to worship the Lord on his holy mountain.

THOSE ISRAELITES IN GERMANY AND EGYPT WILL RETURN AND WORSHIP GOD IN JERUSALEM, IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH, AS WE ALSO SAW IN CHAPTER 11. GOD REPEATS AND REPEATS OVER AND OVER AGAIN HIS LAST DAYS PROPHESIES, IN ALL HIS OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETIC BOOKS. THE CONTEXT IS AS CLEAR AS THE SUN IN A CLOUDLESS DAY, BUT MOST READ RIGHT OVER IT ALL.

ISRAEL AND JUDAH WILL BE PUNISHED, YES, BUT THOSE ALIVE WILL RETURN TO JERUSALEM TO WORSHIP GOD ON HIS HOLY MOUNTAIN.

Keith Hunt

Isaiah for Today #7

Chapters 28-29

CHAPTER 28 Isaiah gives a message to Ephraim (Britain and the British Commonwealth). He tell you Britain, woe to your crown of pride, and to the drunkards, which is indeed the way of more and more British - drinking till drunk. Your once British beauty is fading fast, you are the pity and sin of Europe, the leading nation in many ways that is not good to be leading in. The Eternal says that the crown of pride, and the drunkards will be trodden under foot, and the glorious beauty shall fade away as the flower does in the blazing hot summer heat. Yet in that destruction to come, during that time, the end result will be that the residue of the people will take the Lord of hosts to be their crowning glory, and His judgment and strength will they use to start their new life (verses 1-6). Isaiah goes back to warning them. The priest and the prophet - the religious leaders have erred as if through strong drink and swallowed up in wine. The tables they put forth as food for people are just the vomit of filthiness (verses 7-8). God says who is it that shall teach knowledge and who shall teach understanding of doctrine. It is those who have been weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast (verse 9). This is saying that the prophets and priests of Israel are as babes, not grown enough for true spiritual understanding, to be able to teach anyone what is correct and what are the truths of God. The truth of God is built up on solid ground, it must be search for, as the Bereans did when the apostle Paul preached to them (Acts 17:10). You must look for it, you search it out, you must have the right attitude of mind (verse 10). But because the teachers do not, and the people do not (see what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:1- 4), so God would be to them as someone of a different language - they would not understand His word or truths. God's word would be to them like a jig-saw puzzle which they had not the slightest clue on how to put together correctly. It would be this here and that there, some over there and some elsewhere, it would not make sense to them, they would be lost in a maze and would be broken and snared and finally just fall backwards in utter confusion (verses 9-13). When religious leaders are cornered with knowing they do not understand God's word, they are taken in their own snare, they are broken, they know they have fallen. Isaiah now moves to the center of Israel's worship - Jerusalem, the highest order of religion in the land we shall say (verse 14). The religious leaders have made a covenant with death and hell, that when trouble is facing their religious errors or the nations as a whole, they have deceived themselves by saying no harm will come to them or the people. They have made a deal with deception, a deal that they falsely believe their falsehoods will not bring death on them or their people. They believe their outward form of holy religion will secure for them and their people salvation in this life and the life to come (verse 15). God will judge them by His foundation stone and they shall be found wanting. This verse 16 is used in the New Testament about Christ Jesus being that foundation or corner stone. The words of Christ, the truth of the inspired teachings of the Scriptures, will judge and break those who will not be in agreement with the sure foundation of God's corner stone, the Christ who inspired the men who wrote the books of the Bible. God will judge, He will use the plummet to ascertain the ones who are not in line with His inspired Word. And there will be a wind and hail and the storm will come and uncover the lies and false teachings of the false prophets and religious leaders. The covenant they think they have made to secure salvation with teachings and practices not based on the corner stone of Christ, will be broken, and they will be trodden down, exposed for the scam artists they are (verses 16-18). God will uncover their deceit and it will be made clear that what they have does not fit the reality of God's truth, just as some beds are too short for some men to stretch out and fit correctly (verses 19-20). Isaiah goes on to say to the people, to us today, you better not mock, laugh at this, or your bands of punishment will be made yet stronger, for a consumption, a punishment, has been determined by God to come upon all the earth at the end time (verses 21-22). Isaiah tells us to LISTEN, give ear, HEAR the VOICE of God, as He will deal with everybody and all nations, as He must, to the degree of what is needed to bring the end result of a good harvest - REPENTANCE! The analogy of the farmer is given. The farmer does not always plow and never sow. He does not forever cultivate the soil and never plant. He does finally plant his seed, each in its own section of land. The farmer knows what to do for each and every result he wants from his seed and land. He also does not thresh all the crops the same way. A heavy sledge is not used on dill, it is beaten with a light stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cummin; instead it is beaten softly. Bread grain is easily crushed, so he doesn't keep on pounding it. He threshes it under the wheel of a cart, but he does not pulverize it. So the Lord Almighty teaches and corrects and punishes, in accordance as He must for each person and nation, to achieve the best and finest result, when the harvest is to be gathered in. The punishment on Ephraim, Israel, Judah, and the false prophets and teachers of religion, shall be carried out with the wisdom and balance from God, to bring the best result in the end. CHAPTER 29 Ariel, where David dwelt, is given to represent Jerusalem and Judah. Even the compilers of my KJV Bible have as a heading - "Woe pronounced on Jerusalem." Judah - the Jews of the Holy Land - Jerusalem - will have armies to encamp around her, and to besiege her. Her destruction will come in the last days, as Jesus said it would in Luke 21:20. The abomination of desolation will be the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of the Beast Power Empire - the King of the North - the last resurrected Holy Roman Empire of Europe, taking shape even now in the nations of Europe. This destruction of Jerusalem will come in relative suddenness. Jesus said that His people in Jerusalem, will look from their roof tops, or out in their fields, and see the armies surrounding Jerusalem. They are to flee to the hills, not even to try and gather clothes, return to their homes, but to get out FAST! For as Isaiah was inspired to say, the people of Jerusalem, will be visited of the Lord, He will allow it to happen, there will be THUNDER, EARTHQUAKE, GREAT NOISE, WITH STORM AND TEMPEST, AND THE FLAME OF DEVOURING FIRE!! (verses 1-6). Yet, all that come against Jerusalem and Judah in the last days, will in the overall time scheme of world events through the ages, just be as like a dream in the night - oh maybe a night- mare dream, but it will not last that long as the eternity of time is concerned. God likens it to a man having a dream of thirst, he drank before going to sleep, is awake after his dream of thirst, is a little faint by it all, then it has passed away. I've had a few dreams of this sort. I was upset by my dream, woke up being upset, then in the reality of it all, it was gone, all was fine once more. So the punishment on Jerusalem and Judah will not be pleasant, but it will be relatively short in the terms of eternal time (verses 7-8). The next section (verses 9-14) is termed by the KJV compilers of my edition - "Spiritual Blindness." And rightly so it is. No matter how the people or leaders would like to understand the sealed visions of God, it will not be understood. The people and the so-called teachers are like drunk men, they cannot perceive correctly truth from error. And most cannot even open the seals, no matter if they are called prophets, rulers, learned, unlearned. It makes no difference they cannot understand the real truths of God. The Lord will not allow them to understand, because you Israelites have honored God with the mouth, but in your heart you have walked away from Him, and your fear of Him, is taught to you by the traditions and precepts of men (verses 9-13). Jesus had some strong words for such outward show of religion, you'll find it in Mark chapter 7. So, a wondrous work God will do in Israel. All wisdom of those who should be wise will perish, and the understanding of those who should be the prudent ones in Israel shall be hid. It just will not be there. Your leaders, Oh Israel and Judah, will not have the wisdom or the understanding to lead you in the right direction, to lead you away from calamity and final destruction, because of your sins. They may make what sounds like good speeches, tell you things you want to hear, how they will make it all better, but in the reality of it all, they will be unwise and lack true understanding. They may carry a Bible under their arm now and again, speak religious sounding words now and then, but they will not be able to turn you away from sin, bring you to real repentance, and stop the downward path you have taken to destruction and punishment from God (verse 14). Verses 15-16 is about DECEIT, and God does condemn it! Many deceitful things are done in the dark within your nations. What goes on behind closed doors in many places of work, business, local, state, and federal Government, would shock is to death as they say, if we can be shocked any more. As it says here, surely your turning of things upside-down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay, for shall the work say to him that made it, He made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding. Things today, right from wrong, truth from lies, righteousness, sin, has indeed been turned upside-down and inside-out. For hundreds of years we have said the state of marriage is between a man and a woman, now we say, no, it is whatever you say or think it is, hence we have turned one truth upside-down and now legalize same sex marriages. We have said for centuries God created marriage, and it was Adam and Eve, now we say, we have created marriage and it can be Adam and Steve, or Sally and Sue. The deceit of all kinds is ever increasing in our nations, truth and honesty, are it seems, dirty words today. Yes, Israel and Judah, you will reap what you are sowing. The time is coming to receive your just reward for your works of sin. Over and over again Isaiah warns you of this end result of your ways, but then we have Isaiah being inspired to tell us the rest of the story, the time beyond the punishment, the time of RESTORATION of all things, the time of the wonderful age to come. So again some of that age is given to us in verses 17-24. The Eternal says that in a short while (after all the destruction of the last 42 months of this age as the time span the book of Revelation gives) Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be like a forest. It is the time a mighty miracles, the deaf will hear the words of the book (the Bible) read to them, the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble will increase their joy in the Lord, the poor (spiritual and physical) shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the mighty one (in attitude and/or physical) will be brought to nothing, the scorner is consumed, the ones who watch for and live for practicing iniquity will be cut off. All kinds of evil and sin will stop in that age. It will be a time when the House of Jacob shall not be ashamed nor their faces wax pale from fear and death. When the people of Israel shall see their children once more in their midst, as a new generation is born, they shall glorify the God of Israel, they shall respectfully fear Him and sanctify His Holy name. It will be a time when those who have erred in attitude of mind, and live into that new age, will come to correct understanding, and those who murmured at the truths of God shall learn what is the truth of the matter in the teachings and doctrines of the Lord. What an age that will be, and Isaiah will tell us more about that age in future passages that he wrote down for us. ......................... To be continued

Isaiah For Today #8

Punishment but Mercy and Restoration

Chapter 30 - 33 CHAPTER 30 The prophecy once more shifts back to Israel (all or part of) before they are punished in captivity. They are called "rebellious children" and that they add sin to sin (verse 1). Certainly that is where the modern people of Israel are today. We in the Western world are ever being rebellious to the Word of the Lord, and our sins get more and more each day and month and year that passes. We will in the future, at least part of Israel will, try to take strength in Egypt, but it will be our shame and confusion. Back in the 1960s and 70s it was so, and that led some to believe prophecy was coming to its close and the end of the age would be soon upon us. Egypt back then was in the news just about every week it seemed, from what I remember. Egypt right now is seldom in the news. This just goes to show how God can SLOW things down if He so desires. Before the end of this age can come, Egypt will need to rise to mighty power and influence once more, leading a coalition of Arab nations, forming the "king of the south" of Daniel 11:40-45). But whatever help Israel is looking for from Egypt it will not be there, their strength for Israel will sit still (verses 2- 7). As I edit this in 2011, Egypt has freed itself from dic- tatorship and can now move forward in time to become the spear- head of a united Arab group of nations, called in the book of Daniel "the king of the south" - see Daniel 11:40-45. Isaiah is now told to WRITE in a book (verse 8)...for what purpose, ah we are told ... "... that it may be FOR THE TIME TO COME, FOR EVER AND EVER." Yes, prophecy often REPEATS itself!! The people of Israel - the Western world in the main, are a lying people, rebellious people, people that WILL NOT HEAR THE LAW of the Lord! Our peoples do not want the true prophets of the Eternal to sound their massage of truth. They want to hear sweet and smooth things, they want to hear deceits. They do not want to hear what the Holy One of Israel declares. So, because you despise the word of the Holy One, and want perverseness instead, so the breach in the dam you've built against God, will smash and the whole flood of destruction shall come upon you suddenly. It will be like the breaking of a potter's vessel to you; the Lord will not spare, and no one will be found to deliver you (verses 8-14). It is only in RETURNING to deep REPENTANCE, that you Israel will find REST! But you would not. God has sent His servants to call you to repentance, but you would not. You said, no, we will not, we will flee from it as upon horses, ride upon the swift of the earth, put our trust in man. So, it will be that they who pursue you for to destroy you, will be swift! When it comes to pass, one thousand of you shall flee at one, at the rebuke of five you shall flee. It will all take place until you will be a sign only to those who pass by. They will see where you were, mighty and great, but you will be like a sign of "So they were once upon a time, the mighty of the earth, but that is history now" (verses 15-17). Yet, all is not lost, as come punishment and destruction, so comes mercy and healing. The Lord will be patient, He will be still gracious to you, so have mercy on you. The people of Israel if dwelling in Zion and in Jerusalem, and shall weep no more. The Eternal will hear the voice of your cry, and when He hears it, He will answer you. Though the Lord will give you the bread of affliction and adversity, yet your teachers will not be in a corner, but you will see your teachers, very upfront, in a personal way. And one day your ears shall hear a voice behind you saying, "THIS IS THE WAY, WALK YOU IN IT, when you move to the right or left hand." It will not be some words on a screen like this website on the Internet. Most of your true teachers today are unknown to you, they are not popular. But one day you will know your teachers in a very real way, for Jesus will return and the saints of all ages will rise in a resurrection to rule all nations under Christ. You, Israel and Judah will be rescued from your enemies, and will inherit the Promised Land in fullness as God has promised. The saints resurrected will be your teachers and will be there when you may want to do wrong, and will correct you with words of truth, "This is the way, walk you in it!" You will then cast away all your false images of religion and self-willed rebellion. You will tell them to "get lost" - you will finally see your sins and wrong ways and will want to throw them all away! It will be the day of good increase for the farmers of Israel, there will be fat and plenteous harvests, the cattle feeding in large pastures. Good feed will be for the herds of cattle, with rivers and streams of water coming from the hills. This will all come to pass in the time period when "the slaughter, when the towers fall." It is the time period of the end of this age, the prophecies of the book of Revelation are coming to pass, and when the earth reaches the "age to come" as the apostle Paul once called it; the time of the transition from the end of this age to the fruitfulness of the age to come. It will be the time when the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun as seven-fold more, as the light of seven days rolled up into one, it is the time when God binds up the breach of His people, answers their cry, and heals them from desolation and captivity (verses 18-26). Such as the moon being like the sun and the sun being 7 times stronger has never happened since Isaiah wrote this prophecy. It is indeed for the time at the end of this age. He wrote it down for a time yet to come. Now the prophecy of Isaiah moves to the punishment of the great Assyrian Empire, the German led confederacy of Europe, the last resurrected Holy Roman Empire. God will punish those He used to punish His people Israel and Judah. The Lord will raise His voice, the power of His arm shall come and the German led United Europe Beast power shall fall. He who smote will be smitten (verses 27-33). CHAPTER 31 Again God gives warning to those who will put their trust in Egypt. The "king of the south" of Daniel 11:40 and the nations confederate with Egypt shall not succeed in their might. The Almighty says Egypt is not God, but mere men. All will fall in due time and according to the purpose of the Holy One (verses 1- 3). The Lord will come down to fight for Zion. Not all is lost for Jerusalem and Israel. God will deliver Jerusalem. Isaiah tells people to TURN to Him from whom the children of Israel have revolted, for the day comes when people will throw away their idols of silver and gold, whatever sin they have made for themselves. The Assyrian (Germany) will flee and fall by the sword. The Lord will be as a fire in the furnace at Jerusalem and Zion. It will be the time of the end of this age, and the Lord comes as a mighty fighting warrior (verses 4-9). CHAPTER 32 It is the time when a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgement. It is the time of Jesus' return and the resurrection of the saints. Those with this King shall be as rivers of water in the desert. Eyes shall indeed see, and ears shall indeed hear, the true ways of life. The heart of people shall understand true knowledge, and those who stammer at speaking truth shall talk clearly. The vile person shall no more be called "liberal" - "Oh, it's just his way to live" - "All should be free to do as they desire." The vile person will no more "churl" or mix his sin is all kinds of ways, to utter error against the Lord. The vile churlings are evil, from evil persons who destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy are in the right attitude. The "liberal" shall fall in his liberal ways. Justice from God will come. We have seem in the year 2008 the many who devised cunning craftiness with "house mortgages" and how the poor and average citizen in the USA was led to buy and then later loose their homes through the lies of the vile money schemers. Such are the ways of many vile persons as they take advantage of the poor with lying words (verses 1-8). God gives warning to the mothers of Israel. To those who bear children and are looking for the "good life to continue" - but the day comes when thorns and briers, will come upon all the houses of joy in all the cities. Sin will need to be corrected and the children of the land will suffer. The time will come as when Jesus said that women will wish they had never born children and never gave suck to their babies. Those words are recorded as you read Matthew 24; Mark 13; and Luke 21. The time will come when the towns and cities will be forsaken, when the wild beasts will live in them. It will all happen UNTIL the Spirit is poured out from on high, until the wilderness again becomes fruitful and the fruitful as a forest. Then, in the new age to come, judgment will be in the wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance for ever. Then God's people Israel will dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. It will be a time for blessings from the sky and from the land, for man and for the cattle of the land (verses 9-20). There is another way to understand these last verses in this chapter. I quote from the Amplified Bible, verses 19 and 20. "But it (the wrath of the Lord) shall hail, coming down overpoweringly on the forest (the arm of the Assyrians), and the capital city shall be utterly humbled and laid prostrate. Happy and fortunate are you who cast your seed upon all waters (when the river overflows its bank; for the seed will sink into the mud and when the waters subside, the plant will spring up; you will find it after many days and reap an abundant harvest), you will safely send forth the ox and the donkey (to range freely)." It will be the time to destroy the mighty German led Europe of the Babylon Mystery Religion, and restore the people of Israel to their Promised Land with the blessings of the millennium reign of Christ on earth. CHAPTER 33 The treacherous destroyer of the last Holy Roman Empire, will also be dealt with in like manner. As Jesus said, those who live by the sword shall die by the sword (verse 1). Then we have a PRAYER - a PRAISE for the salvation that God will bring to Zion and Jerusalem. At the lifting up of God's arm the nations were scattered. He will yet fill Zion with judgment and righteousness. Wisdom and knowledge shall be present, strength and salvation; and the fear of the Lord is the treasure (verses 2-6). Yet before all that comes, there must be destruction and judgment upon the sinners of mankind. The valiant will cry, the peace (earthy man-made peace) will weep, for God will rise and punish those who are destroying the earth. There will need be destruction from the Lord before the new age can arrive (verses 7-9). The Lord will arise and will punish. Who will be able to stand when God judges the earth? It is he who walks righteously, and speaks uprightly, it is he who will not be taken in by the ways and sins of this world, who will shut his eyes from evil. It is this person who shall dwell on high with the Eternal God. This righteous person will see THE KING in all His beauty, and dwell in a land that is now far off. This person shall one day see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down, a place of solid rock, for THE ROCK of ages will be there - Jesus shall come again to Zion and Jerusalem. The glorious Lord shall be as a place of broad rivers and streams. It will be the time and age for the Lord to be judge and be the lawgiver; to be KING to His people; to SAVE Israel. It will be a time when the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the Promised land shall not say, "I am sick." For the people then dwelling there shall be FORGIVEN THEIR INIQUITY! (verses 10-24). Oh yes, beyond all the time of trouble and punishment to come on the people of Israel and Judah and the whole world, there is a bright day promised. A day and age of FORGIVENESS and HEALING and JOY and SALVATION and PEACE, for all Israel and for all nations of the earth, as Jesus our Lord shall come and bring the Kingdom of God to earth. So Lord may your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. .................. To be continued

Isaiah For Today #9

There is no one Above the Lord

Chapters 34 - 40 CHAPTER 34 We come again to one of the many Old Testament prophets who tell us about the prophetic "day of the Lord" or as John in the book of Revelation chapter 6:17 called, "The GREAT DAY of His WRATH is come ..." The almighty says through Isaiah: "Come near, to hear, and harken, you people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth from it. FOR, the INDIGNATION of the Lord is upon ALL nations and His FURY upon all their armies: He has utterly destroyed them, He has delivered them to slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall melt with their blood" (verses 1-3). Notice verse 4, see again the time of the great heavenly signs that usher in the day of the Lord, as told by Jesus in Matthew 24 and by John the apostle in Revelation 6. "All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf off the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree" (verse 4). This prophecy is for the yet future, after the heavenly signs and after we enter the day of the Lord. It is the time for "Idumea" or modern Turkey to be punished, for their dealing harshly with Judah when the Jews of the Holy Land are taken captive by the Beast power, and the Jews have to flee for their lives. The punishment of Turkey is given in full details by the Prophet Obediah. As Isaiah puts it "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion." I shall cover and give the details of Turkey's punishment when I come to the book of Obediah. The verses 9-17 give the desolation of Turkey in graphic pictures. It will be a time of turning the streams into pitch, the dust into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. No one will be able to put out the fiery destruction. It shall lie desolate from generation to generation. People are to seek out the book of the Lord, and note that what God has written shall come to pass, and so the prophecy against Turkey is sure and the wild beasts shall have their land. CHAPTER 35 We are given once more a snap-shot of the age to come, when the Messiah shall return to earth in glory and power and Israel and Judah will be recovered from the lands where they have been scattered after their fall and captivity to the end-time Beast Babylon power of the Holy Roman Empire of Europe. This must be a prophecy for the yet future, the beginning and moving into the Kingdom of God on earth, for Israelites are to come to Zion, and obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away (verse 10). The Jews in Zion today are far from having sorrow and sighing fleeing away. There is much sorrow and much sighing in Zion today. This chapter 35 is indeed for the 1,000 years or the millennium as it is often called. "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose ... they shall see the GLORY of the Lord and excellency of our God ... say to them of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; BEHOLD your GOD WILL COME WITH VENGEANCE, even God with a recompense; He will come and SAVE you." The Jews are not saved today! Notice what else is to take place at this time in Israel's history. "THEN the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. THEN shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: FOR in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. AND the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of jackals (dragons) where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. AND an HIGHWAY shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called 'The Way of Holiness' - the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; BUT THE REDEEMED SHALL WALK THERE: AND the RANSOM OF THE LORD SHALL RETURN, AND COME TO ZION with songs and everlasting JOY upon their heads: they shall obtain JOY and GLADNESS, and SORROW and SIGHING shall FLEE AWAY!" It is the time for the nature of animals to be changed, as we read in Isaiah 11. It is the time to recover Israel and Judah from the four corners of the earth, and to bring them back to the Holy Land and Zion. It is the time to RESTORE the wilderness and make the earth as the garden of Eden. The time for mighty miracles of healing to begin, as we move into the promised age to come, the Kingdom of God on earth. What an age that will be, an age that has not been on earth since before the sins of Adam and Eve. CHAPTERS 36-39 These chapters contain the past historical events in the life of Hezekiah in Jerusalem. Please take the time to read it, maybe in a modern translation. One outstanding note is to be observed. God CAN fight for His people. He has the power to destroy the enemy of those who will call out to Him and put their faith in Him. He can be the battle axe, the war machine, for those who trust Him. The Lord can send His mighty angels to fight for His people (chapter 37:35-37). Also to note is that God can give more years of life, to the physical man, if it pleases Him to answer those who desire more years. Hezekiah cried out for more years and God granted him 15 more years of physical life (chapter 38:1-5). We find here also the miracle of the "sun dial" moving back 10 degrees (verses 6-8). This miracle together with Joshua's "long day" and some other Old Testament miracles are included in the expounding under the category of the study "Joshua's Long Day" on this website. One more point of notice is chapter 38:17-19. The truth of "death" is here given in a nut-shell. The grave CANNOT praise God, death CANNOT celebrate the Lord; they that go down into the grave CANNOT be given more truth. It is the LIVING, the LIVING, who praise God, and it is parents living in the present who can make known truth to their children. Parents CANNOT give truth to their children AFTER those parents have died. The truth of the matter on the subject of "death" and then what, is given in full detail contained in many studies on this website, one study especially called "DEATH - then What?" CHAPTER 40 A prophecy that most will immediately relate to the first coming of the Messiah. Some prophecies have a DUAL application, and this is certainly one of them. In the context it is even MORE related to the coming of the Messiah is power and glory. Israel and Judah are in CAPTIVITY when the Messiah comes as a warring King, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. All is not lost for Israel/Judah/Jerusalem. "Comfort you, comfort you, My people, says your God. Speak comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her, that her warfare (margin is "appointed time" meaning her punishment) is accomplished, that her iniquity is PARDONED: for she has received of the Lord's hand double for her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" (verses 1-3). John the baptist was the first "Elijah to come" but there will also be an Elijah to come again, at the end-time, who will warn and shout the salvation (which also includes repentance and punishment sometimes to bring about repentance). This subject of the "Elijah to come" is clearly given by Jesus Himself in Matthew 17:9-13. There is also a full study article on the subject on this website, called "The Elijah to Come?" It is the time in prophecy when: "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the GLORY of the Lord be revealed, and ALL FLESH shall SEE it together: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it" (verses 4-5). The way God will deal with the earth and the nations upon it at the end time, will be as we have seen, like the shaking of the vine. It will be astonishing and like nothing that mankind as a whole has ever witnessed before. The time element of this prophecy is made clearer still as we read the next verses. "The voice said, Cry! And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God shall stand for ever. O Zion, that brings good tidings, get you up into the mountain; O Jerusalem that brings good tidings, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, BEHOLD YOUR GOD!" There will be the TWO Witnesses in the streets of Jerusalem in the last 42 months of this age (Revelation 11) who will indeed be shouting and bringing GOOD NEWS. The Beast power will not think they are bringing good news, but those in tune with God's Word will know the Mighty Eternal is witnessing to the nations of the earth. It is the time when: "Behold, the Lord God WILL COME with STRONG HAND, and His arm shall RULE for Him. Behold, His REWARD (to give to faithful saints) is with Him, and His WORK BEFORE Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young" (verses 6-11). The Lord Jesus will indeed love and reward His disciples of all ages, as they are resurrected to meet Him in the clouds and descend to the Mount of Olives (1 Thes.4 with Zech.14). It is also the time when the Lord shall deliver the tribes of Israel from their captivity by the end time Beast Power. They will be humble and repentant for sure by this time. The Lord will bring them as lost sheep are found and cared for by their shepherd. This is given in detail in Ezekiel chapters 34 to 36. It is the Almighty God of Israel who has so written and who will bring to pass what He has decreed. I cannot give you the time in this 21st century as when all this will come to pass, but I can tell you with full assurance, IT WILL BE AS IT IS WRITTEN!! Some of you reading this will probably see these things come on this earth, and then you will know that God is true and that He has indeed done what He said He would do, and that is do nothing like this unless He first gives you warning through His true servants (Amos 3:7). The following words from the Holy One of Israel need to be repeated in all there FULL power and GLORY. It is the Almighty One who tells you there is NO ONE greater than He!! "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the ruler, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measuring cup, and weighed the mountains in a scale, and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor, has taught Him? With whom did God take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop in the bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. Behold He takes up the isles as a very minute thing. All the tree of Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts of it sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted to Him even less than nothing, and emptiness. TO WHOM WILL YOU LIKEN GOD? OR WHAT LIKENESS WILL YOU COMPARE UNTO HIM? ..... Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants of it are as grasshoppers; that stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreads them out as a tent to dwell in. That brings the Princes to nothing; He makes the Judges of the earth as worthless.... they will wither and as before the whirlwind, they are stubble and they are blown away. TO WHOM WILL YOU LIKEN ME, OR SHALL I BE EQUAL WITH ANYONE? SAYS THE HOLY ONE. LIFT UP YOUR EYES ON HIGH AND BEHOLD WHO HAS CREATED THESE THINGS, THAT BRINGS OUT THEIR HOST BY NUMBER: HE CALLS THEM ALL BY NAMES, BY THE GREATNESS OF HIS MIGHT, FOR THAT HE IS STRONG IN POWER; NOT ONE FAILS. Why do you say O Jacob, and speak o Israel, 'My way is hid from the Lord, and my right is passed over from my God (He does not care about me).' Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, FAINTS NOT, neither is WEARY, there is no way to search out all His understanding. He can give power to the faint; and to those with no might He can give strength. Even the youths shall eventually faint and be weary, and the young men shall finally utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall change (margin) their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (verses 12-31). ...... Looking only to the physical present, we have no everlasting youth, even the young in age can fall, get weary, and faint. We should not pin out hope on this life, for it can often be a battle of one sort or another. Verse 31 is not so much a promise for this physical life as it is for the life to come in the resurrection. Certainly God can give strength to anyone of His children at any age in this physical life, but this is not a verse that promises some quick fix in all situations. For this lifetime in the flesh, this verse should be viewed as a "general statement" and the Bible is loaded with "general statements." There is an important study on this website called "An Important Key" which all readers should make sure they read and remember it. More important is to view this verse as concerning the resurrection life. When those who have waited on the Lord will be given an immortal body as that which the apostle Paul expounded on in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, and the amazing promise from God of which we find in 1 John 3:1-3. There is no GREATER in the universe than God. He is the creator of all that is. He has promised many things, very many things in His word the Bible. All of those promises and what He has declared WILL COME TO PASS, it is just a matter of time, His time, as He wills when He wills it. We must remember that with the Eternal One a day can be a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. He can slow things down, or speed things up, all according to His will. The prophecies of Isaiah are TRUE and they WILL come to pass, not according to our time table, but according to the time table that He alone determines. .................. To be continued

Isaiah For Today #10

God is THE God - Israel Punished/Restored

Chapters 41-44 CHAPTER 41 We continue with the majestic and inspiring words from the Eternal God. God tells the islands (large or small) to keep silent , and for people to renew their strength, and come near together for right judgment. It is the Lord who guides and controls all things. He is in charge at all times, and can step in at His will among the people and nations, in any generation. Who can do this God says, "I the Lord, the first and the last (the word "with" is not in the Hebrew); I am HE" (verses 1-4). The Almighty is indeed the great I AM of Moses' day. The Lord gives encouragement in the times of despair, so good can come out of evil (verses 5-7). God has Chosen Israel "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend" What words to be called a "friend of God" - so was Abraham. We also can not only be the child of God but we can be His friend also. Jesus said to His disciples in the Gospels that He called them "friends" (John 15:14). In the time of Israel's (all 13 tribes) trouble at the end of the age, THE LORD GIVES COMFORTING words; He calls them His servant, and has not completely cast them away (verse 9). "Fear you not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you, uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive against three shall perish. You will seek them but not find them, even them that contended with you: they that have made war against you shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I the Lord thy God will hold your right hand, saying unto you, Fear not; I will help you. Fear not you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will help you, says the Lord, and your REDEEMER, the Holy One of Israel" (verses 8-14). All of Israel (Israel and Judah) have been punished for their sins, they have only ONE in TEN persons remaining alive, scattered in the nations that the end-time Beast Power of Europe reigns over; they are in the lands of their enemies. All looks completely lost, it looks like the full end has come to the mighty Israel nations of Britain and the Commonwealth, the USA, and other nations of the West. the house and people of Judah, the Jews, are fallen also; ALL of Israel is looking like it will disappear from the earth. But God tells them to take heart, the be encouraged, He will RISE UP, AND DESTROY THEIR ENEMIES, He will be the REDEEMER to all Israel, and terrible shall be the destruction of those who have hated them and smashed them and cast them off. Yes, beyond the many warnings the prophets SHOUT OUT to Israel and Judah that they shall in the last days be PUNISHED and FALL into the hands of their lovers (as Ezekiel puts it) and destroyed, the prophets also GAVE HOPE to them, that God would not forget them, but would RESTORE them as ONE PEOPLE and bring them back to the Promised Land. He will make them once more a sharp tool and they will work wonders among the nations left on earth. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, during their hard times to come, God will hear, the Holy One of Israel will NOT forsake them utterly; the rivers will be opened, the wildness shall blossom and the dry land shall break forth with springs of water; the cedar and many other trees will again take root and grow forth. The Lord will do it so the nations will SEE, will KNOW, will UNDERSTAND, that the HAND OF THE LORD HAS DONE IT, the Holy One of Israel has created it a wonderful world once more. When you read and understand what is YET to COME on this earth as told by the book of Revelation; destruction like the world has never seen, it will be a GLORIOUS WITNESS to all the people left on earth, when they see the blue planet of earth RESTORED to BEAUTY and SPLENDOR!! Idolatry and Fortune-tellers Confounded The Enteral cries out, "Produce your cause, bring forth your strong reasons, says the King of Jacob. Let the fortune-tellers bring forth, and show us what SHALL HAPPEN: let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come thereafter, that we may know that you are gods: yes, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it" (verses 21-23). They say that if we do not learn from history we are bound to repeat it. God challenges the star-gazers, the fortune- tellers, to declare what is to take place on this earth. With tongue-in-cheek He wants them to show they are some kind of "god" to bring forth the future. What you are reading of the prophecies of the Lord God on this website, are SURE TO COME TO PASS, as the rising of the sun. It is God who only can lay down what the nations will do. He gives DETAILS, He proclaims it BEFORE it comes to be. I have told you time and time again, the fundamental prophets of Protestantism DO NOT UNDERSTAND prophecy, they CANNOT, because such understanding is only given to those who serve and fear and KEEP the commandments of the Most High. They will NOT repent of breaking the FOURTH commandment, they will not abandon the false Christian Festivals and observe the Feasts of the Almighty as found in Leviticus 23. So they will never understand Bible prophecy! I have told you over and over again the drama of the last 42 months of this age. Prophecy in Europe and the Middle East is marching on. There will come a last resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe, it is even now forming more and more, with each passing month and year. There will come a king of the South, Egypt will dominate an Arab confederation of nations. The two Empires will clash, the Roman Babylon Whore of Europe will come against the king of the south, and win the battle. The Babylon Whore will march into the Holy Land and encompass about the city of Jerusalem. She will cause the desolation of that city, just as Daniel and Jesus foretold. Then the Jews of the land will have to flee for their lives. Mystery Babylon the Great will then turn on the rest of the West, and attack and smash the proud nations of the British Commonwealth and the USA. Babylon/Assyria (the German led and false prophet guided) Europe will control the Western world, and much of the Middle East. Russia and China and others from the East be watching. The lesson NOT learned from history will be repeated - the Europe Beast will attack the mighty men of the East. The East will counter attack and a war so IMMENSE will take place that IF NOT STOPPED there would literally be no human life left on this blue planet. Jesus will step in, He will come with the angelic armies of heaven; the resurrection of the saints of all ages will take place, they will rise to meet Christ in the clouds and proceed down to the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem. The great battle of Armageddon will take place. Christ and His armies will destroy those armies that come against Him. The Lord will begin to bring the people of Israel and Judah from the lands where they have been scattered. He will RESTORE them to the Promised Land, and so will start the wonderful age to come, spoken about by all the Holy prophets since the world began. The RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS WILL BEGIN!! That my friends, in a nut-shell, is what the Almighty God tells you what will come to be on this earth. It has nothing to do with a physical temple in Jerusalem, Jews offering animal sacrifices, a 7 year covenant by the Beast Power with the Jews, a middle interruption, a breaking of the covenant, a rapture of the saints to heaven, and then coming back to earth with Christ after the second part of the 7 years. All of that is FALSE prophetic garbage from the false prophets of fundamental Protestantism. And the fairy tales of some who have not learnt from the past as to setting date years for Christ's coming, is also the folly of a twisted mindset that captures silly people. Indeed it is as Jesus said, the blind leading the blind, and all will fall into the ditch. What does God say to them: "Behold, you are worse than nothing (margin) and your work is worse than nothing (margin): an ABOMINATION is he that chooseth you" (verse 24). Yes, the warning is to YOU also, who choose to follow such false prophets with their crazy predictions. You are held responsible for who you follow. You have the responsibility to search God's word and to determine who are the true prophets and servants of the true God. God will send someone in the last days who will know the right and the true prophetic words of the Lord (verse 25). This is probably a reference to the Elijah to come as the Old Testament prophets proclaim and as Jesus also claimed would come (Mat.17: Mal.3:1; 4:5). The Amplified Bible in part: "[What idol] has declared this from the beginning, that we could know? And beforetime, that we could say that he is [unquestionably] right? Yes, there is none who declares it, yes, there is none who proclaims it; yes, [the truth is, O you dumb idols] there is none who hears you speak! I [the Lord] first gave to Zion the announcement, Behold ... behold them! And to Jerusalem I gave a herald ... bringing good news..." (verses 26-27). God will make sure that a warning goes out to Zion, the Jews, and Jerusalem. And that the good news of the age to come is proclaimed. But the work of the false prophets is all vanity, worthless; their works are as nothing; their images of words, predictions, whatever they set up, are wind and confusion. CHAPTER 42 THE SERVANT of verse one is the Christ, the Messiah, as shown clearly from Matthew 12:18. The Messiah will show forth the Word of God and bring salvation to the Gentiles. He will not fail nor stop until He sets true judgment in the earth, and until even the isles of the sea will wait for His law, delight in His way (verse 1-4). "Thus says God the Lord, He that created the heavens and stretches them out; He that spreads forth the earth, and all that comes from it; it is He that gives breath unto people of the earth, and spirit to them who walk on it. The Almighty shall be with His Servant, to give righteousness, He shall be the covenant to the people, and a light to the Gentiles/Nations. He will open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from prison and those that sit min darkness out into light" (verses 5-7). It will be a time of SPIRITUAL awaking. When people will see the truths of God, be free from sin and evil, and shall find salvation. It will be the time to chain up Satan and the demons, so people will no longer be held in the pit of darkness and deception. "I am the Lord: that is my name: and my GLORY will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold the FORMER THINGS are come to pass, and NEW THINGS do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them" (verses 8-9). History does indeed REPEAT itself. Isaiah was to write all these things down as we have seen, so also did the other prophets of the Old Testament. One large reason is that the former things were to come to pass again at the time of the end. So much is to happen in the last 42 months of this age that is really is mind- bending. Yes of course we want the Kingdom of God to come on earth, we desire Jesus to return, but in so desiring we must also bear in mind the horrific things that must come on the earth and the nations BEFORE Jesus can return. Human words cannot correctly explain and declare adequately the tribulation to come that has never been the like or never will be again experienced by the nations of this earth. But the Lord God DECLARES THOSE THINGS. He has told you in advance WHAT WILL COME TO PASS!! A New Song In the heat of all that tribulation to come, because there is a bright light beyond the pain of the darkness, we are to sing a new song of praise to the Eternal, all peoples near and far are to sing praise. "The Lord SHALL GO FORTH AS A MIGHTY MAN, He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; He SHALL CRY, YES, ROAR; HE SHALL PREVAIL AGAINST HIS ENEMIES!" (verses 10-13). God's Impatience with Idolaters The long-suffering of the Lord is long and He is very patient. He has been still for a long time, He has held back, sometimes we think prophecy is close to all coming to pass, then it seems things slow down, and maybe it is so, for God here tells us He has refrained Himself. Yet one day He will CRY OUT, He will not hold back, He will be the Warring King and He will come and there will be mighty destruction. Mountains and hills will fall, burn the earth, dry up the rivers and lakes, and with it all He will lead the spiritual blind; He will make the darkness into light, and He will not forget them or forsake them. There will come at that time, REPENTANCE, when people will see the false images they raised up for themselves, and they will be ashamed of calling all those false ways "You are our gods" (verses 14-17). Oh, many may be sincere, and do not mean to set up idols before themselves, but if anyone does not seek the Lord God with all their heart and mind, searching His word for truth and then practicing it, they have then allowed whatever they do, and however they live, to be their god! Spiritual Blindness of Israel God calls out to His people Israel to look and see, to give ear and hear. The Lord will make sure that His righteousness and His law will be MAGNIFIED and will be made HONORABLE. Part of that which is pleasing to Him, in MAGNIFYING His law, is proclaimed to the world by this very website. There are others in the work of the Lord who also MAGNIFY His law and have their websites. Truly today as never before the MAGNIFICATION of the way and law of the Lord is being done via a medium that was not even dreamed about by servants of the Lord 50 years ago. Yet with such a POWERFUL tool as the Internet God says His people Israel, are like those snared in holes, bound up in prison, put out for the prey ..... and they have NONE to DELIVER them. The Lord says, "WHO among you will give ear, who will harken and hear" (verses 18-23). Though Israel has many out there who "preach" from the Bible on TV and Radio and in Magazines, there is few who know the sound of the words of the TRUE servant of the Lord. So Israel is BLINDED, and WILL NOT see to they can be spared the punishment to come. Who is it that will give Jacob Israel to the spoiler? It is the Lord, the one they have sinned against! For they would not walk in His ways, nor be obedient to His law. You, the British Commonwealth, the United States of America. You, many nations of North-West Europe. You the Jewish people of the earth. You are not willing to walk in the ways and in the LAW of God. Therefore He will pour out on you His wrath and anger, and the might of battle, and you will be as a house set on fire, terrible things will come on you, you will experience troubles, as never before in your history. Yet for all this, the Eternal says you "laid it not to heart" (verses 24-25). You people of Israel and Judah are so very stiff-necked, you will not listen to the truth of God though it be SHOUTED to you. You have cast the word and law of God out of your homes, out of your educational institutions, you have gone a whoring after the false teachings of evolution and secularism. You have tasted of disasters never the like in your history, but none of it has turned you to deep and real REPENTANCE!! So hence you will suffer one day as never before because of your sins. CHAPTER 43 Even then the Lord is MERCIFUL, He will not cast you off forever, or destroy you so none is left. God will through it all REDEEM you. Those left who will walk through the fire, shall not be burnt, some will survive. The Holy One of Israel will bring your seed from the East and from the West. God will tell the North, "give them up" and to the South "Keep them not." Your sons and daughters will come from far away and from the other end of the earth, all that are called by the name of the Lord, for it was He that called Israel for His glory" (verse 1-7). Yes, we see from Deuteronomy 4 that God called Israel to do His will, to perform His law, to be a LIGHT to the nations around them, so other people would say they also wanted to know the true God of Israel. The Lord's work will not be undone. Israel will yet in the age to come be the glory of the Lord, the servant people who will show the world the true ways of God. Israel is Called to Witness Bring forth the people the Lord says, bring them forth. Let Israel be His witness to the light of truth. God has chosen Israel to believe in Him, to understand that there is no god but the Lord. The Eternal says that before Him there was nothing formed of God (margin) and there will be no god after Him. He says, "I, even I, an the Lord and besides me there is NO salvation." The Lord revealed Himself to Israel and therefore they must be His witnesses. There is NO OTHER god. There is none that can deliver out of His hand. He is and He works and none shall stop Him (verses 8-13). Babylon Will Fall A brief prophecy that Babylon (the modern Holy Roman Empire of Europe) is to fall. Other prophecies declare this Beast power will only rise for a short time, it will astound the world when it does and its destruction in one day will also astound the world. It will be at the time period when God will make a new thing in the earth, when the wilderness breaks forth and rivers in the desert (verses 1-21). Israel's Sins of Ingratitude God says Israel has NOT called upon Him. Israel has become a weary to Him. Israel has not acknowledged the Holy One in any deep way. They have stopped serving Him in the ways they did at one time. The Lord of Israel has been forgotten. God has become wearied with their sins and iniquities. It is God that can blot out transgressions and not remember sins any more. He calls out for them to REMEMBER Him. He wants them to talk to Him, plead for forgiveness. He wants them to be justified, to be forgiven. But as it has been in the past O Israel, your father (Jacob) sinned (though he found repentance, and you have as yet not) and your teachers (in the churches and schools of education) do transgress against me. And as the Amplified Bible puts it: "And so I will profane the chief ones of the sanctuary and will deliver Jacob to the curse (the ban, a solemn anathema or excommunication) and [will subject] Israel to reproaches and reviling" (verses 22-28). Time after time, over and over again, we find God telling the people of the Western world, their sins, the walking away from Him that they are doing, their unwillingness to listen to Him and to His true prophets He sends them. He tells us in the West that our teachers of "religion" and "education" are transgressors of His holy law. And because we will not turn to repentance He will need to give us to the curse, and into the hands of those whom He will use to destroy us and take us captive into lands far away. CHAPTER 44 And as the punishment is repeated so also is the RESTORATION repeated over and over again. So the beginning of chapter 44 is foretelling the time when Jacob Israel with have God's Spirit poured out on them, when they will be called by His name. The Eternal once more tells Israel that He is the FIRST and the LAST, and there is no god other than He. He asks the tellers to tell the future if they can, but He knows they can not. There is no one like He is (verses 1-8). Delusion of Men who Make various Idols Verses 9-20 is a full descriptive narrative of people who make out of physical material various "gods" - it is all not only logically silly but also they deceive themselves into a false dream of secure deliverance from evil or destruction. Today, it seems it is general "materialism" that has turned the nations of Israel from their God. We are caught up in a world of such material blessings and such a fast paced life style, and the power of space-age technology and the false security of weapons of mass destruction, that we either do not pay any attention to God period, or we worship Him for a few hours on the pagan Sun-god day. Whatever we have made in our minds or by our material goods, we have succeeded in throwing the Lord out of the window. We simply do not pay much attention, if anything, to the GLORY of God. Glory of God who Makes Man No Matter what we are doing, the God of Israel will not forget us and will one day bring us to doing what He chose us for in the first place. "Remember these O Jacob and Israel; for thou are my servant: I have formed thee, thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have BLOTTED OUT, as a thick cloud, they TRANSGRESSIONS, and as a cloud, they SINS: RETURN unto Me; for I have REDEEMED thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein; for the Lord hath REDEEMED Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel. Thus says the Lord, thy REDEEMER, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself; That frustrates the tokens of the liars, and makes diviners mad; that turns the wise man backward, and makes their knowledge foolish; That confirms the word of His servants, and performs the counsel of His messengers; that says to Jerusalem, You shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, You shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof...." (verses 21-27). Yes, we are left with the GOOD NEWS to end this section of Israel. Verse 28 should be the first verse of chapter 45. God will RESTORE Jacob Israel, Jerusalem shall be inhabited, the cities of Judah shall again be built. After the Great Tribulation of the last 42 months of this age, a NEW AGE will come, in that age Israel and Judah shall be once more ONE people, brought back from their enemies, brought back to the Holy Land of Promise, where finally God's Spirit will be poured out on them and they will settle and grow and be the WITNESS they were originally chosen for, to be the LIGHT of the world, to SHOW FORTH the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God. What a BLESSED TIME that will be! What wonder is the Almighty, He will have His way on this earth, truly as it is written, there will be a day when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea beds. .................. To be continued

Isaiah For Today #11

There is None Like the Almighty - the Future is His!

Chapters 45 - 46 CHAPTER 44:28 - 45 The new chapter should start with chapter 44:28. The Eternal gives a prophecy regarding Cyrus, to command the re-building of Jerusalem, the foundations being laid. This prophecy was fulfilled as can be seen from 2 Chronicles 36:22 and the first verses of Ezra. this was a prophecy given YEARS BEFORE Cyrus was born. Of course the scoffers will not admit the book of Isaiah was written before the days of Cyrus, but then again scoffers of the Bible will not admit the Bible Scriptures are inspired. One day the scoffers will be silenced into having to bow the knee before the Lord Jesus Christ. Cyrus was even called by God with his name in advance, way before his birth on earth (verse 4). God thus declares His majesty and power and that there is no other greater than He (verses 5-6). Verse 7 is a mind-bender of a verse! A shocking verse if you please! You will notice God says He is not only the creator of light but of EVIL also! How can that possibly be? The apostle James in his letter tells us that the Lord God temps no one with evil. God does not sit down and deliberately tries to think up ways to create evil! The Most High is PERFECT, HOLY, SINLESS, RIGHTEOUS, JUST, MERCIFUL .... He does not think evil, say evil, do evil. Yet because He created ALL things, He created FREE AGENCY, He created people and angels with the ability to decide to do evil or to do good, to keep His way of life or to go in the opposite direction from His holy ways. The Eternal is the governor of the universe and all in it. There truly is NO other power greater than He. Hence EVERYTHING GOOD OR EVIL, HAPPY OR SAD, RIGHT OR WRONG, IS ***ALLOWED*** by Him to take place. He does not decide to "intervene" and stop all evil things that come on this earth, or evil people from doing evil things. In that decision He has made, to ALLOW evil, He can then be correctly appraised to have created evil. For this age (from Adam to the coming of the Messiah in glory) God has created good and evil by creating "free choice" in mankind and angel kind. When the new age of the Kingdom of God on earth arrives, God has chosen to allow very very little evil on this planet. Satan will be bound up and he and his helpers will not be allowed to send forth deception. We have seen already that when someone is going to sin, do evil, there will be a voice saying to them, "This is the way, walk you in it." It is written people will no more "learn war" and there will also be the very changing of the wild beasts, the lion shall walk with the lamb and a little one shall lead them (refer to Isaiah 11). It will be a time of figuratively, the skies dropping down righteousness, the earth bringing forth salvation (verse 8). It will be a time that will be a "woe" to him that strives with his Maker. The clay should not strive with the potter. It will be a time of "no questioning" the hands of the potter. God is the great CREATOR, AND IS WORKING HIS WORK. IT IS GOD WHO HAS CREATED THE EARTH AND MANKIND ON IT. THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORK OF HIS HANDS (verses 8-12). The prophecy slips back to the man Cyrus, in verse 13. He would do the work of God's purpose. For a while God may be said to be hiding Himself, but the day is coming when He will not be thought of as a God hiding Himself. It will be the day when Israel shall be saved, when they shall never again be confounded or ashamed. The man called Cyrus was to be a leading figure in the restoration of part of Israel after their 70 year captivity in Babylon (which started for Judah in 604 B.C.). In a larger way this Cyrus man stood for the Messiah who would come at the end time to save Israel (all 13 tribes) from captivity, restore them to the Holy Land, and to build THE Temple that Ezekiel talked about, and to restore the Kingdom to Israel that the disciples inquired about from Jesus - Acts 1 (verses 14- 17). How the earth was Created The next few verses give is valuable information on HOW THE EARTH was CREATED! The earth was NOT created in CONFUSION, the same Hebrew words as in Geneses 1:2 "without form and void." It was created to be INHABITED! There was most definitely an age of the "dinosaur." There was an age of HUGE animals and plants. That age DID come to a quick and MASSIVE destruction, even as secular science now admits did happen. There was a space wars on a scale the human mind cannot really understand. The one we now call Satan the Devil, with one third of the angles, REBELLED against God, figured they could take over the heaven of God's throne. This earth came under attack as can hardly be imagined. Exactly all that went on is not revealed to us in detail, but the earth became without form and void, and covered with water ALL OVER! The dinosaurs were extinguished, many buried. The mighty vegetation plants crushed and laid down to be the coal and oil seems of today. It was the time of the WORLDWIDE FLOOD! The worldwide flood was NOT in the days of Noah, but in the days of the star wars between Satan and his angels and God and His angels. All that such books like "The Genesis Flood" "Deluge Story in Stone" and others, explain, have the time OF THE WORLDWIDE FLOOD in the wrong place! The place it should be is in Genesis 1:2, and NOT in the days of Noah. There are many studies on this website to prove that what I've stated above is correct. You need to study the study on Noah's flood on this website and find the correct understanding of that event. The Lord does not always keep silent, He does not always stay hard to find. He has never said to the seed of Israel that to seek Him would be in vain. No, God often does SPEAK UP and does DECLARE things that are right (verse 19). Oh yes, He has done it different ways at different times, but IF you are searching, desiring, seeking Him and His truths, you CAN find Him. It is there to find. Jesus said you shall know the truth and the truth would set you free! You have to do your part, you have to seek righteousness and long with all your heart to be led by the Spirit of God into that which is holy, just and good. God cries out to you, "Look unto Me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength; even to Him shall men come; and all that are incensed against Him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory" (verses 20-25). Indeed, one day all will know God does exist, that He is the Holy One, the Eternal One, the Almighty One, and one day ALL persons that have ever been on this earth shall have to bow the knee to the God of Israel. It is a promise from the Lord and it will be as it is written. There will be no more scoffers one day. God will show Himself and indeed every knee will bow before Him. CHAPTER 46 God tells the house of Jacob and the REMNANT of the House of Israel (remember they are in captivity at the time of the end), those whom He figuratively carried in His womb even to old age. Even now in their time of trouble and captivity shall the Lord bear them up, carry them on, and DELIVER them. The Eternal through Isaiah has said this many times already, but He says it once more (verses 1-4). To give them hope He asks "To whom will you liken Me, and compare Me, that we will be alike?" The nations may set up their gods and idols, maybe even made with pure gold and silver and fall down and worship the things of their hand. They may bear them up and carry them on their shoulders. One may call out to them, but they will not deliver them from the punishment to come and their destruction and captivity. So, in your time of trouble, REMEMBER the FORMER things of old, "For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me. Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I WILL DO all My pleasure ... I have SPOKEN it, I also WILL bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I WILL also DO it! Harken unto Me you bull-headed, that are far from righteousness: I bring near My righteousness; it shall not be far off, and My salvation shall not tarry: and I WILL place SALVATION in Zion for Israel My glory" (verses 5-13). Salvation is NOT in Zion today! Oh, there are some Christians in Jerusalem today, but the Jews STILL by and large, will NOT recognize Jesus Christ as Messiah or as Savior. The day is coming when the whole world will see the glory of God, when He will no longer sit back and mainly watch from the sidelines. It will be a time when surely all will know and see God coming in the clouds of heaven with the angels and resurrected saints. In God's appointed time ALL KNEES WILL BOW BEFORE HIM. All will know He only is the Creator and Almighty. Salvation will go forth from Zion as never before. All that Zechariah wrote about in his chapters 12,13,14, will come to pass. What a blessed day that will be. Come Lord, come! ................. To be continued

Isaiah For Today #12

Modern Babylon Destroyed - Restoration of Jacob Israel

Chapters 47 - 49 CHAPTER 47 This chapter of Isaiah goes hand in glove with Revelation 18. You need to stop and now read Revelation 18. Isaiah 47 is the DAUGHTER of Babylon, not the original Babylon but her daughter, the descendant of Babylon. She is going to sit in the dust, be destroyed, no more being called tender and delicate. Her nakedness shall be uncovered and her shame (of lies, evil, and false teachings) be revealed. God will take vengeance, and when He does, Oh what destruction will come upon her. It will be not a man taking vengeance but the Lord of Hosts, the Holy One of Israel. She will sit in darkness, this daughter of the Babylon kingdom and religion. She shall no more be called "The Lady of kingdoms." This Babylon daughter is the last Holy Roman Empire of Europe with the Roman Catholic Church as the woman that rides the Beast of the book of Revelation. This Babylon church calls herself the true Church of God, she claims she is the lady of all ladies. A "woman" in Bible prophecy represents "church" - either the true Church of God in actuality or the false church/es that claim to be "Christian" but are in effect the churches of "deception" governed by Satan the Devil. This "lady of kingdoms" - this Babylon religious Beast, who has a political man and a false religious prophet who is guiding her, shall come to destruction by the hand of the Lord God of Israel (verses 1-5). God now goes back (verse 6) to the destruction of His people Israel and Judah by the hand of this woman Babylon, He says, "I was angry with My people, I have polluted Mine inheritance, and I have given them into your hand: you did show them no mercy; upon the ancient has thou very heavily laid your yoke." The time is coming when the people of Israel (the Western Nations of the world) and Judah (the Jews) shall fall into the hands of this mighty Europe Babylon Beast power. She is now rising in Europe, there is a way to go yet before she will RISE IN MIGHT, BOTH IN POLITICAL/MILITARY AND RELIGIOUS POWER, but she is getting there. God is in control of it all, only He wills when it will all come to pass. We have seen in the last 50 years the Lord is taking His time to bring all the end-time prophecies to their climax. But I can tell you with FULL DOGMATIC ASSURANCE, what you are reading about in this study of Israel WILL COME TO PASS, IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME! This Babylon Europe will have NO MERCY when it is given the power to CONQUER the WESTERN WORLD! She will say, "I shall be a lady forever, for thou didst not lay these things (written) to your heart (she would not admit the truths of God), neither didst thou remember the latter end of it (she would not see the end result, even when told by the holy prophets of God)" (verses 6- 7). See Revelation 18:7. She that is given to pleasure, that dwells carelessly (in her teaching that she is the true church of God), she says, "I am, and NONE else is beside me; I shall NOT sit as a widow, neither shall I know the LOSS of children" (verse 8). She claims to be the queen of God, the TOP of the tree in Christian religion. She claims to be the MOTHER of children, and she is indeed, all the Protestant churches she claims to own, and will have them back in one way or the other. When she is granted control of the Western world she will claim she shall sits as queen and never again will be a window. She will once more control Christian religion. She will have destroyed any opposition, the very true Church of God, will have fled into the wilderness, and this Babylon Beast will persecute and kill those true Christians remaining, who have not escaped to the wilderness of protection. All this is fully covered in my expounding of the book of Revelation in the New Testament Bible Story, on this website. But the very things that she shall say will not come upon her, shall INDEED COME, even in ONE DAY! She shall see the loss of children, she shall be a widow: she shall be DESTROYED QUICKLY for the SORCERIES, and for her abundance of ENCHANTMENTS. It is truly AMAZING how MANY (OVER a Billion now) are deceived by this Babylon Church of Rome with her strange religious sorceries and enchantments. Today anyone can Internet the Roman Catholic teachings and discover her strange doctrines like the virginity of Mary, or the assumption of Mary. With a little research you can discover the killing and blood this lady of churches was responsible for over the centuries. You can if you will, come to see the WICKEDNESS of this church. With her wisdom and knowledge (she indeed does have many priests with Ph.D's) but this has only PERVERTED her with her proudness of "I am, and there is none else besides me" (verse 9-10). Because of all this EVIL that will come upon this daughter of Babylon ... it will come so suddenly it will hit her like a bolt of lightening. God calls her to stand with her sorceries and enchantments and see if she can prevail over the Lord Eternal. As she deals in strange false religious teachings, God calls her to go to the strange astrologers, star-gazers, prognosticators, and see if they can save her from the destruction that is to come her way. The Lord says such false hope in astrologers etc. will NOT save her, they will NOT be able to deliver her from the fire of destruction, from the power of the flame. All the mighty of the earth, the powerful, the merchants, shall wander away and none shall save her (verses 11-15). It is the time when the merchants of the earth shall stand afar off and shall be in shock and dismay at her destruction, they shall wail and cry for her mighty trading power has come to an end, and the lady of kingdoms shall be a widow and she shall have blood just as she was drunken with the blood of the saints whom she has killed over the centuries. Her time of judgment and punishment has come. See Revelation 18. CHAPTER 48 The Almighty now speaks again to Israel, who are FROM the waters of Judah, separated from Judah, proving that Israel are not always with Judah, that often Israel is talked to separate from Judah (the Jews). Israel swears by the name of God, yes, "In God We Trust" can be in print on their money, but the Eternal says, words are just words, but as for truth and righteousness they are NOT serving Him. They say they are of the Holy City, claiming to be "Christian" nations. God says He has spoken to them, declared the former things from the latter things, given them the prophetic words of truth. And He has! This website is telling Israel and Judah the righteousness and truths of God, it is shouting out to Israel the things that WILL COME TO PASS! They are being WARNED! God is doing it for Israel is OBSTINATE, their neck is as IRON SINEW, and their brow as BRASS. It is the nature of Israel to TURN AWAY from the Eternal, AND TO NOT HEAR those who speak the truth to them, when they prosper in physical wealth. God says He has declared His truth to them from the very BEGINNING, and BEFORE anything came to pass He has showed it to them - truth from error - sin from righteousness, so they CANNOT say it was their idols that they could only hear. No, the Lord has made sure such an excuse cannot be used - truth and righteousness HAS BEEN DECLARED TO THEM! What will come to pass has been TOLD them. God has even showed them NEW THINGS, EVEN HIDDEN TRUTHS, that they knew not. Those truths have been shown to them during the last days, less they should say they already knew them. There are truths and studies on this website that have been revealed to you in these last days, that many of you, MOST of you, did NOT know before. To some extent those truths were kept from you because God knew you could not bear them, that you would deal VERY TREACHEROUSLY with them. He knew your nature of heart, even from the womb, from the time you were chosen by Him. Some will understand the truths of the new things given, but God knows the majority are stiff-necked and rebellious, and will not accept light, or even new light of revealed truths. He understands your heart of brass and so will NOT deal with you in FULL fury. For His ultimate praise He will not cut you off fully, destroy you completely. The Lord will REFINE YOU, not for silver, not for the physical side of life, no, for a higher purpose indeed. He will yet choose you though through the fire and furnace of affliction. He will do it so His name will not be polluted. So it cannot be said that God chose you and could not bring you to fulfil His glory and plan for you to be the light of the world (see Deut.4) (verses 1-11). The Lord God chose Israel and Judah to be the light of the truth of the Lord to the world. He will yet use them to do just that. Punishment - afflictions - refining in the fire of captivity to your lovers (the book of Ezekiel says it is our lovers that will rise up against us) WILL COME, but we shall not all be destroyed, some will remain and live into the 1,000 year millennium of the Kingdom of God on earth, when Jesus returns to deliver Israel from their lands of their captivity and return them to the Holy Land. Listen O Jacob, Israel, all of you. God says He is the I AM. He is the FIRST and the LAST! He is the One who has created the earth and has spanned the heavens. He calls and the universe obeys. Who but God can declare these things to come? God will still love Israel and will DO His pleasure on Babylon, when His arm shall fall on that daughter of the Beast Empire. Isaiah says the Spirit of the Lord has spoken. God has sent forth the ones to declare His truth (verses 12-16). Listen Israel to what your God says, "I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst harkened to MY COMMANDMENTS! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; His name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before Me" (verses 17- 19). If you Israel had been willing to obey the COMMANDMENTS of the Lord, you would have lived in peace and your righteousness would have flowed forever as the waters of the river. You would not have faced punishment and captivity. But your teachers of religion and your rulers have rejected the LAW of the Lord, you have cast Him out of your homes, your schools, your courts, your everyday life. You have become more and more secular, pleasure crazy, sports crazy, profane in your entertainment and your prime time TV shows are SICK-COMS! They are sick and wickened! Your religious leaders speak great swelling words of outward righteousness but in truth they lead you from truth into the falsehoods of Mystery Babylon religion. Your political leaders often speak words of "religion" but they are FAR FROM the way of the Lord in reality and truth. As God says elsewhere, your leaders are MAD and your prophets are PROFANE! Your God calls you to LEAVE BABYLON, TO COME OUT OF HER (see Revelation 18:4)! You need to GIVE TRUE PRAISE to the Lord that He will REDEEM His people Jacob. As He did in the past, working miracles in the days of Moses and Israel in the wilderness, so He will do again, and will restore Israel to be His people in truth and righteousness. But for the present He tells you there is NO PEACE for the wicked (verses 20-22). CHAPTER 49 Israel is personified as a servant from the womb whom God has called to speak His words as a sharp sword. Israel is like a polished spear to be used by the Lord. He has told Israel that they are His servant in whom He will be glorified to the rest of the world. Israel may doubt that God will be with them in their trouble, but they will turn to Him in faith. This is our nature that when we are down and out, punched to the ground, we turn to our God and trust Him again to deliver us. When we find ourselves in captivity we shall again look up, though not yet gathered from the lands we are captive in, we shall have hope that our God will gather us and restore us. The Lord will be our strength once more. It will be nothing for God to restore us, to make us a light to the nations of the world, and send forth the salvation of the Holy One to the ends of the earth. The rulers and kings of the earth, the mighty and the small, shall worship the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, for the Eternal shall yet choose and restore Israel, and use them to be His servant of truth and salvation (verses 1-7). Restoration is Promised It is in AN acceptable time God will hear, in A day of salvation He shall help you Oh Israel. He will preserve you, those that are left, and shall give thee for a "covenant of the people" (Hebrew is "a brit-am") to establish the earth, to re- populate many of your lands and to once more inherit the desolate places made desolate by your destruction by your lovers. You will say to the prisoners of your people, "Go forth; to them that are in darkness, show yourself." They shall indeed feed in the ways, and pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger and thirst; neither shall the heat of the sun smite them: for He that has mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them. And God says He will make all the mountains a way, and His highways shall be exalted. Behold they shall come from afar; and lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim (Jewish commentators say, "land of the south"). Israel will be regathered from the nations of the earth where they have been taken captive. The direction of north, south etc. in the Bible is always from the city of Jerusalem. Israel (all 13 tribes) will be taken by the Europe Beast power to different nations of the West, as captives, slaves. Those left alive, which will be only ONE in TEN by the time Jesus returns, shall come and be restored, hence the world should sing for the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on them in their affliction (verses 8-13). Rebuilding of Zion Promised The Jews of the Holy Land in captivity at the end time shall think God has forsaken them, that they have no hope. But the Eternal One says can a mother forget her sucking child, so she has no compassion on the son of her womb? Maybe they can, but the Lord will NOT forget Zion and the Jews of Judah. The people of Judah are as stamped into the very skin of the hands of the Lord. Those that will destroy you in the last days will leave Zion. Judah will yet be clothed with their enemies, a way of saying, be the head and not the tail. The land of your destruction, the Holy Land, shall be one day way too small for you, as the Almighty restores you. And those who had swallowed them up shall be far way now. Your children, after you loose many of them in the end times, shall say to you that the country is too small, and we need more lands to dwell in. What has taken place with the Jews in the 20th century in the Holy Land is only a TYPE of the final fulfilment of this prophecy, which will start at the beginning of the reign of Christ on earth. The Jews may question this prophecy when they are in the end time captivity, and have lost many of their children, and see only desolation and captivity. But God says, "Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up My standard to the people: and they shall bring their sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried on thy shoulders. And kings shall be thy nourishers, and the princesses thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and YOU SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait on me" (verses 14- 23). This is all saying the truth that at the beginning of the reign of Christ on earth, the Jews of Judah will be RESTORED and be the HEAD and not the feet, be the chosen people of that part of Jacob to serve the world and inherit the blessings of the world. God's people will be thinking at this time that the prey can hardly be taken from the mighty (as who can take the prey away from the lion once in his claws). Who can deliver the captive when taken by the mighty. But thus says the Lord God, "Even the captive of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I WILL CONTEND with him that contendeth with you, and I WILL SAVE your children. And I will feed THEM THAT OPPRESS YOU WITH THEIR OWN FLESH (see Zech.14 and the battle of the end of the age), and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with new wine (margin): and ALL FLESH SHALL KNOW THAT I THE LORD AM SAVIOR AND THY REDEEMER, THE MIGHTY ONE OF JACOB!" (verses 24-26). All flesh today does NOT know that God is the Holy One, the only Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. A very good portion of the population of this earth does NOT know the true God of Israel, they are deceived into many false religions. This all is a prophecy for the YET FUTURE, to come to pass at the END OF THE AGE, on into the Kingdom of God on earth, when Jesus shall return and deliver Israel and Judah and Zion and Jerusalem from the hands of the Gentiles, to RESTORE them and form them into the LIGHT of the world, and the glory of the Lord, and to send forth SALVATION to all nations. Wonderful and glorious will be the WAY of the Lord in those days. Praise be to His name. ................... To be continued

Isaiah For Today #13

Chapters 50 - 56

Chapters 50 - 56 From the New Living Translation CHAPTER 50 1 "The LORD asks, Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors? Is that why you are not here? Is your mother gone because I divorced her and sent her away? No, you went away as captives because of your sins. And your mother, too, was taken because of your sins." God is speaking as AFTER His people Israel and Judah have been taken captive by their lover enemies. God did not put them away into captivity just because He got tired of them, or just at His whim, or just wanting a change of wife, as many men of the flesh have done. No, it was because of their SINS that the Lord had to finally divorce them and send them into captivity. Israel and Judah have SINS that are MOUNTING each and every day, we have turned our back on our God more and more, even when we call our nations "Christian." 2 "Was I too weak to save you? Is that why the house is silent and empty when I come home? Is it because I have no power to rescue? No, that is not the reason! For I can speak to the sea and make it dry! I can turn rivers into deserts covered with dying fish. I am the one who sends darkness out across the skies, bringing it to a state of mourning." God could have saved us from the third world war yet to come. He did save us from the destruction of the FIRST and SECOND World Wars. But the next time around there will be no victory. We shall be DEFEATED! God will NOT save us from defeat the next time around in the THIRD world War! He will allow us to be defeated. He will not rescue us from captivity by our lover enemies. The LORD'S Obedient Servant 4 "The Sovereign LORD has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. 5 The Sovereign LORD has spoken to me, and I have listened. I do not rebel or turn away. 6 I give my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pull out my beard. I do not hide from shame, for they mock me and spit in my face." This was a prophecy applied in the New Testament to Christ. 7 "Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be dismayed. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will triumph. 8 He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to oppose me now? Where are my enemies? Let them appear! 9 See, the Sovereign LORD is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!" Jesus the Christ Messiah will have the VICTORY over His enemies. He DID have the victory of Satan at His death and resurrection, He did lead captivity captive as the apostle Paul put it. Jesus will yet come again in power and glory and destroy those who are destroying the earth. "10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the LORD and rely on your God. 11 But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon lie down in great torment." Those who will receive light and truth will come to have faith and trust in the Lord Almighty. But those who rely on their own heart and strength, and trust their own fires of power, will be rewarded with torment and destruction. How the book of Revelation brings this out in detail is your to study and read as I have already expounded it on this website. A Call to Trust the LORD CHAPTER 51 1 "Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance - all who seek the LORD! Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut! 2 Yes, think about your ancestors Abraham and Sarah, from whom you came. Abraham was alone when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great nation." 3 The LORD will comfort Israel* (*Hebrew "Zion") again and make her deserts blossom. Her barren wilderness will become as beautiful as Eden - the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found there. Lovely songs of thanksgiving will fill the air." Now once more we are transported into the AGE TO COME! The time when Zion, Jerusalem, shall be as a wonderful garden as Eden was at the beginning. It is the time of restitution of all things, the time we have seen portrayed already in many chapters in Isaiah. 4 "Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My mercy and justice are coming soon. Your salvation is on the way. I will rule the nations. They will wait for me and long for my power. 6 Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth beneath. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!" There is NO MISTAKING when this prophecy is meant for. It is the end time heavenly signs and a time when death is everywhere, people dropping dead and being killed as like the killing of flies with a killing smoke or spray. It is the time that most of the book of Revelation is foretelling. It is the last 42 months, the 1260 days, the time and times and dividing of a time, as given in the book of Revelation - the very last three and one half years of this age, before the coming of the age to come. 7 "Listen to me, you who know right from wrong and cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people's scorn or their slanderous talk. 8 For the moth will destroy them as it destroys clothing. The worm will eat away at them as it eats wool. But my righteousness will last forever. My salvation will continue from generation to generation." Those who love the LAW of the Lord (which seems to be hated more and more today - certainly some parts of it) are not to be dismayed. God will yet have His righteousness proclaimed from Zion and Jerusalem. His salvation will YET go forth to the nations of the earth. Those who preach and teach against the Law of the Lord will be eaten, will be gone from the earth, only righteousness (see Psalm 119:172) and salvation will remain on earth. How we need that day! 9 "Wake up, LORD! Robe yourself with strength! Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile. 10 Are you not the same today, the one who dried up the sea, making a path of escape when you saved your people? 11 Those who have been ransomed by the LORD will return to Jerusalem, *(*Hebrew "Zion") singing songs of everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be overcome with joy and gladness." God will come with the might as He once showed against Egypt, when He delivered Israel by His mighty hand. He is the same, He has not lost His power, even though many think He is sleeping. He will come and will deliver His people once more from the land of their enemies. They will come as a huge wagon trail of people marching from Europe and Egypt, from the North and the South, from all parts of the world, as they were scattered by the Beast power of Europe during the last 42 months on this age. They will come with SINGING of JOY, the sorrow will be over, only JOY and GLADNESS at that day. 12 "I, even I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? 13 Yet you have forgotten the LORD, your Creator, the one who put the stars in the sky and established the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppression? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies from morning till night? 14 Soon all you captives will be released! Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate! 15 For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the LORD Almighty. 16 And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely within my hand. I set all the stars in space and established the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, 'You are mine!'" The Lord gives Israel, Judah, Zion, the hope of DELIVERANCE. THEY ARE NOT TO FEAR MERE MAN! All they have been given in the end time great tribulation of imprisonment, starvation, death, shall no longer be their fate. The GOOD NEWS is that God will send Jesus back to earth to DELIVER Israel and Judah and Jerusalem from the enemy. They will again be the Lord's. 17 "Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem! You have drunk enough from the cup of the LORD'S fury. You have drunk the cup of terror, tipping out its last drops. 18 Not one of your children is left alive to help you or tell you what to do. 19 These two things have been your lot: desolation and destruction, famine and war. And who is left to sympathize? Who is left to comfort you? 20 For your children have fainted and lie in the streets, helpless as antelopes caught in a net. The LORD has poured out his fury. God has rebuked them." It is a time when Israel and Judah will look and see that their children are so few it will seem like there is none left. What desolation and destruction it will be, what famine and war. Who is left to comfort you, so terrible will be the punishment of Israel and Judah for their sins. It will need come, God will have no choice, for we are stiff-necked and have kicked our God out of our house. We have said we do not want Him in our schools, our homes, even in our churches, though some be filled, we outwardly profess Him but we will NOT live our lives by His Holy Law and Word. God's FURY will surely come upon us, it is only a matter of WHEN! 21 "But now listen to this, you afflicted ones, who sit in a drunken stupor, though not from drinking wine. 22 This is what the Sovereign LORD, your God and Defender, says: 'See, I am taking the terrible cup from your hands. You will drink no more of my fury. It is gone at last! 22 But I will put that cup into the hands of those who tormented you. I will give it to those who trampled you into the dust and walked on your backs.'" OH, THOSE WHOM GOD WILL USE TO PUNISH ISRAEL AND JUDAH SHALL BE THEMSELVES PUNISHED! God is no respecter of persons! The end time Beast power of Europe as well as the power of the kings of the East, the mighty Soviet Russia, China, India, Japan power are also great SINNERS and will receive their punishment also. Deliverance for Jerusalem CHAPTER 52 1 "Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourselves with strength. Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will no longer enter your gates. 2 Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem. Remove the slave bands from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For this is what the LORD says: 'When I sold you into exile, I received no payment. Now I can redeem you without paying for you.'" It is time for Zion, Jerusalem, to rise up as in a resurrection, to be RESTORED, and to remove the bands of captivity. It does not matter or is not accounted on physical flesh or material anything, it is God's WILL only that everything transpired as it did - destruction and captivity and healing and redemption for Jerusalem, from the hands of the end time Beast power. 4 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Long ago my people went to live as resident foreigners in Egypt. Now they have been oppressed without cause by Assyria. 5 And now, what is this asks the LORD. Why are my people enslaved again? Those who rule them shout in exultation. My name is being blasphemed all day long. 6 But I will reveal my name to my people, and they will come to know its power. Then at last they will recognize that it is I who speaks to them." The German (Assyria) led Europe will hold oppression on Israel (all 13 tribes) at the end time. They will be enslaved again as like in the ancient enslavement of Egypt. Many will at that time blaspheme Christ, but they will KNOW and SEE the POWER of God, and that it was God who was speaking to them through His prophets (there will be two witnesses in Jerusalem proclaiming the truths of God during the last 42 months of this age, as told to us in Revelation 11) and His word. 7 "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel* (*Hebrew "Zion") reigns! 8 The watchmen shout and sing with joy, for before their very eyes they see the LORD bringing his people home to Jerusalem.* (*Hebrew "Zion") 9 Let the ruins of Jerusalem break into joyful song, for the LORD has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD will demonstrate his holy power before the eyes of all the nations. The ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God." In every age it is most beautiful to have those who proclaim the good news of peace and salvation for individuals and then finally the whole nations of the earth. The watchman (the true teachers and prophets of God) will shout the truths of God, others will when they see it happen, shout and sing with joy. The ruins of Jerusalem will sing forth with joyful song (this is personifying the ruins) as God comforts His people and redeems Jerusalem from the Gentile Beast power. The Lord will indeed demonstrate His MIGHTY POWER to all nations when Jesus returns to redeem Jerusalem, Israel, and Judah. The whole earth will then begin to see the salvation of God. Today that is not so, many nations, many hundreds of millions of people do not know the salvation of the true God, they are deceived by FALSE religions. But the days comes when all false concepts, ideas, and religions will be BLASTED AWAY by the power of the Lord Almighty, and truth and the salvation of God will reign on earth. The knowledge of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea beds. So it is written and so it will come to pass. 11 "Go now, leave your bonds and slavery. Put Babylon behind you, with everything it represents, for it is unclean to you. You are the LORD's holy people. Purity yourselves, you who carry home the vessels of the LORD. 12 You will not leave in a hurry, running for your lives. For the LORD will go ahead of you, and the God of Israel will protect you from behind." The times will come at the end of this age that God will tell Israel to leave her bonds and slavery of captivity. She is to cast off Babylon and all the evil it represents. Israel and Judah are now to be once more a holy nation, belonging to the Lord. It will not be a fleeing as running from the enemy, but a fleeing out of captivity from the Babylon Beast power. God will be their PROTECTOR - leading in front and protecting from the rear. We have seem already in Isaiah that there will be an END TIME EXODUS from Europe (Assyria) and from Egypt (the south). It will be an even GREATER Exodus than when Israel left Egypt under Moses. I refer you again to Isaiah chapter 11 and 12. The LORD'S Suffering Servant The prophecy is now stopped for a moment. It is interjected with a prophecy of the FIRST coming of the Messiah. 13 "See, my servant will prosper he will be highly exalted. 14 Many were amazed when they saw him beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person. 15 And he will again startle* (* or cleanse) many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not previously been told about; they will understand what they had not heard about." The First time the Messiah came He was beaten and killed literally in His death of the cross. Yet in the long run of it all, the kings and nations of the earth will stand speechless. They will see and understand the truth of God, the blindness that covers their minds will be removed. Many who did not hear (and/or especially did not understand) the good news of the salvation of God, through Christ, will hear and will UNDERSTAND! CHAPTER 53 1 "Who has believed our message? To whom will the LORD reveal his saying power? 2 My servant grew up in the LORDS presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. 3 He was despised and rejected - a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows* (Or 'it was our sicknesses he carried; it was our diseases') that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! 5 But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! 6 All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all. 7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that he was dying for their sins - that he was suffering their punishment? 9 He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave. 10 But it was the LORD'S good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD'S plan will prosper in his hands. 11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. 12 I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners." YOU NEED TO READ AGAIN THIS CHAPTER! Let the words sink DEEP into your heart. Meditate on them. Jesus Christ DID ALL THIS FOR YOU AND ME! This is a prophecy concerning the Messiah's FIST coming as SAVIOR of all people, as the REDEEMING SACRIFICE of God, to bring salvation to as many who will BELIEVE and turn to the Eternal ONE in FAITH through Christ. For it is ONLY by GRACE and FAITH that you can be saved. You need to study carefully my study on this website called "Saved by Grace." Through the work and life and death and resurrected interceding work of Christ, MANY can be the VERY LITERAL CHILDREN of God. All this GLORIOUS truth you will find on this website in many various studies. Future Glory for Jerusalem CHAPTER 54 1 "Sing, O childless woman! Break forth into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, even though you never gave birth to a child. For the woman who could bear no children now has more than all the other women, says the LORD. 2 Enlarge your house; build an addition; spread out your home! 3 For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will take over other nations and live in their cities." After Israel and Judah are depleted in the end time Great Tribulation (as another prophecy says only one in ten will live to see the end of the age), God will give them again children and they shall become many indeed, bursting at the seems, going forth and spreading abroad once more during the new age of the 1,000 years. 4 "Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more, 5 for your Creator will be your husband. The LORD Almighty is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. 6 For the LORD has called you back from your grief - as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband, says your God. 7 For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back. 8 In a moment of anger I turned my face away for a little while. But with everlasting love I will have compassion: on you, says the LORD, your Redeemer. 9 Just as I swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the earth and destroy its life, so now I swear that I will never again pour out my anger on you. 10 For the mountains may depart and the hills disappear, but even then I will remain loyal to you. My covenant of blessing will never be broken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you." Truly when Christ comes these promises will become reality. For that time forth the bond between Israel (all 13 tribes) and God will be unbroken, as it is recorded in the 34 to 36 chapters of Ezekiel. God's Spirit will be poured out on them and they will have a new heart - a heart of flesh and not stone; the law of the Lord will be written and stamped on their heart and mind. They shall never again go away from the Lord, but shall be faithful servants forever - out into eternity. 11 "O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you on a foundation of sapphires and make the walls of your houses from precious jewels. 12 I will make your towers of sparkling rubies and your gates and walls of shining gems. 13 I will teach all your citizens, and their prosperity will be great. 14 You will live under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away. You will live in peace. Terror will not come near. 15 If any nation comes to fight you, it will not be because I sent them to punish you. Your enemies will always be defeated because I am on your side. 16 I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals beneath the forge and makes the weapons of destruction. And I have created the armies that destroy. But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. And everyone who tells lies in court will be brought to justice. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!" The beginning of the 1,000 year age may not be all peace and safety per se for everyone. Some nations may try to conquer Israel restored to the Promised Land. We see in Ezekiel 38 and 39 that very event being done. The nations to the East - Russia, China, India, Japan etc. will come against Israel after they have been restored and dwell in complete unprotected towns and villages and cities. God will FIGHT for them! Enemies will be supernaturally destroyed! Many more benefits of being the servants of the Lord will be upon all that will obey and serve Him. Invitation to the LORD'S Salvation CHAPTER 55 1 "Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink - even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk - it's all free! 2 Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul! 3 Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the mercies and unfailing love that I promised to David. 4 He displayed my power by being my witness and a leader among the nations. 5 You also will command the nations, and they will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious. 6 Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 My thoughts are completely different from yours, says the LORD. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 10 The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 12 You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the LORD's name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love." What inspiring words to read; what teaching of truth there is in those verses. It is God who sends forth His word, who calls and chooses. All His work will bear fruit. But He teaches that His ways and thoughts are NOT the ways that man thinketh. We are instructed by the apostle Paul to have the MIND of Christ - Phil.2:5. We need to read God's word to learn and to see and to understand what HIS MIND AND WAYS ARE LIKE! We are to put away what we think is right or how we looks at things, and we are to find out, search out, the very mind of God. It is the key to true Christianity. There is MUCH FALSE Christianity out there because too many want to make God into THEIR IMAGE, what they would like the Holy One to be like, so they can continue to do "their own thing" - to serve God in the way it is comfortable to them, hence we have dozens upon dozens of "Christian religions" of which most are based upon what seems right to man. Proverbs 14:12 is so very true today. You are called to NOT fall for the falsehood of "your way" will be acceptable to God. It WILL NOT!! When the earth shall be covered with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea beds, there will be great peace, joy, happiness, and beauty upon earth. Everything will blossom as never before. The miracles of the age to come are mind-bending to contemplate. Blessings for All Nations CHAPTER 56 1 "Be just and fair to all, says the LORD. Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you. 2 Blessed are those who are careful to do this. Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest by refusing to work. And blessed are those who keep themselves from doing wrong." The prophecy is CLEAR - it is the COMING OF GOD TO EARTH! And what is it that the Lord picks to give emphasis. You could and probably would pick MANY commandments of the Lord that are being broken today by our nations and other nations. From abortion to same sex marriage, from immorality to drug abuse, from profanity to lust, from hate to child abuse, from killing to stealing, from adultery to the lust for money. But it is interesting that God picks SABBATH BREAKING!! Probably the LAST sin that most would pick for the end time, just before Jesus is to return to earth. But there it is. I did not write it. It has been in your Bible for thousands of years. A prophecy for the very end time. God CRIES OUT for us to HONOR HIS SABBATH DAYS!! THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT IS STILL AMONG THE GREAT TEN COMMANDMENTS. IT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE AWAY WITH OR CHANGED FROM THE SEVENTH DAY TO THE FIRST DAY! The world, the nations of Israel are SABBATH BREAKERS! We are to do what is right and good. God is coming to rescue us from the captivity to come at the end time, and we are to REPENT of sin and of not doing what is right. And ONE of those "not rights" is SABBATH BREAKING! 3 "And my blessings are for Gentiles, too, when they commit themselves to the LORD. Do not let them think that I consider them second-class citizens. And my blessings are also for the eunuchs. They are as much mine as anyone else. 4 For I say this to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy, who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me: 5 I will give them - in my house, within my walls - a memorial and a name far greater than the honor they would have received by having sons and daughters. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear!" Again the SABBATHS of God are mentioned in this wonderful blessing context. 6 "I will also bless the Gentiles who commit themselves to the Lord and serve him and love his name, who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest, and who have accepted his covenant. 7 I will bring them also to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations. 8 For the Sovereign LORD, who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says: I will bring others, too, besides my people Israel." Once more the Sabbaths of God are pin-pointed in this end time prophecy. You will notice this is one of the verses in the prophets that tells us "sacrifices" will again be offered at the Temple of God. The Ezekiel Temple is yet to be built. And the whole priesthood re-instituted for that 1,000 years. We have in- depth studies on this website on that subject. THE SABBATH DAY COMMANDMENT IS NOT UNIMPORTANT TO GOD. THIS CONTEXT ESTABLISHES IT AS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE LORD!! Sinful Leaders Condemned 9 "Come, wild animals of the field! Come, wild animals of the forest! Come and devour my people! 10 For the leaders of my people - the LORD's watchmen, his shepherds - are blind to every danger. They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming. 11 And they are as greedy as dogs, never satisfied. They are stupid shepherds, all following their own path, all of them intent on personal gain." WOW! I did not say it. The Lord has spoken it! He tells you in no uncertain way what He thinks of the religious leaders of Israel and Judah. It is plain words. I need not expound it, for it says what God means and it means what it says. Your spiritual leaders Oh Israel are blind leaders of the blind, and both they and those who follow them shall fall into the ditch of destruction and punishment. 12 "Come, they say. We will get some wine and have a party. Let's all get drunk. Let this go on and on, and tomorrow will be even better." They teach and preach FALSE HOPE! They tell you, you can get into the Kingdom of God the way YOU choose, doing your will, the way you decide how to worship the Holy One. They tell you all will be well, so party and party. They tell you the RAPTURE of the saints will keep you from the Great Tribulation to come upon this earth. They do not tell you the truths of God, they say His Sabbaths are not important to observe in this modern 21st century. They tell you homosexuality and lesbianism is not sin. They tell you same sex marriage is fine with God. They tell you abortion is not murder, but free choice. More and more of the "religious leaders" are defiling the holy commandments of God and teaching others to do likewise. They tell you to enjoy the party, it will continue! But you have now seen over and over again so far in Isaiah that the party will end, it will stop, in destruction and death, and captivity for those left alive. But YOU as an individual can stop and can turn in the right direction of the Lord, and whether alive or dead at the coming of Christ you can be in that FIRST resurrection of glory and immortality as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. You can be a king and priest and reign with Christ over the nations of the earth when the Kingdom of God is established upon this planet that will be so beautiful in that new age to come. God is working! He is still calling out for ones to be His children NOW, to walk with Him, to serve Him in Spirit and in Truth. Accept Jesus as YOUR PERSONAL Savior and be a child of the Holy One of Israel. ....................... To be continued

Isaiah For Today #14

Chapters 57 to 60

Chapters 57 - 60 From the New-Living Translation CHAPTER 57 1 The righteous pass away, the godly often die before their time. And no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. 2 For the godly who die will rest in peace. Here is a truth that is not a contradiction of the Bible, just a truth as part of the whole of the Bible and the whole of human life. Sometimes it is not the will of the Father that every Christian lives to ripe old age. There are generalities in the Bible, as the 3 score and 10 (70 years of age spoken about by David in the Psalms) and by reason of strength even more, is a generality for the span of human age. Some live to VERY OLD age - into their late 80s or even 90s, a few to 100 and fewer yet to over 100. How long we live is the bottom line as they say, to what the Eternal God determines. The main thing for the child of God is to live each day we are given as His servant, doing His will, being more like Christ, helping and serving others in the best way we can and with the means that the Lord has given us. To those who are given more then more is expected. From the time you are called to serve God, it is the QUALITY not the quantity that counts. My friend and co-worker in the Lord, Jesse, did not live but to be 46 years old, but in the years she was given to serve the Lord after being called and chosen, she left a service to you all with her website, which is on this website. There is QUALITY in her work. For those of us who will live to see the coming of the end of this age, the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, there will be MUCH sorrow and pain and hardship and death (as never in human history). It will not be a pleasant sight or experience to endure through. Those of us who die in the Lord BEFORE that time of the end, will be spared and protected from the evil to come. These verses here tell us that at times there is peace and rest in death. Idolatrous Worship Condemned 3 But you - come here, you witches' children, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! 4 Whom do you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! 5 You worship your idols with great passion beneath every green tree. You slaughter your children as human sacrifices down in the valleys, under overhanging rocks. 6 Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys. You worship them with drink offerings and grain offerings. They, not I, are your inheritance. Does all this make me happy? 7 You have committed adultery on the mountaintops by worshipping idols there, and so you have been unfaithful to me. 8 Behind closed doors, you have set up your idols and worship them instead of me. This is adultery, for you are loving these idols instead of loving me. You have climbed right into bed with these detestable gods. 9 You have given olive oil and perfume to Molech as your gift. You have travelled far, even into the world of the dead, to find new gods to love. 10 You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. You strengthened yourself and went on. 11 Why were you more afraid of them than of me? How is it that you don't even remember me or think about me? Is it because I have not corrected you that you have no fear of me? This is the overall state of our peoples Israel and Judah, the Western world in the main. We are more and more materialistic, pleasure seeking, sports crazy, entertainment crazy. We sacrifice our children to the sound and sight of the TV, the Computer, the wild Music, the drinking Parties of High Schools and Universities, the secularism and evolution of our Education. We travel far today to export or import the evil and sin of our de-moralized ways. We grow weary with this fad and so look for another fad. We go into the world of the occult and the star-gazers, the wizards and witches. We are ever, more and more, NOT even thinking about the creator of this universe. God asks the question that is it because we have not YET been CORRECTED by the Lord that we have gone far from Him and His way of life. Yes, it probably is. It is the nature of Israelites to FORGET our God when things increase for us in a materialistic way. But this will not go on forever. God will CORRECT!! 12 Now I will expose your so-called good deeds that you consider so righteous. None of them will benefit or save you. 13 Let's see if your idols can do anything for you when you cry to them for help. They are so helpless that a breath of wind can knock them down! But whoever trusts in me will possess the land and inherit my holy mountain. THE DAY OF RECKONING IS COMING. All that we have will not save us. Even what some consider to be our righteous deeds, will not count for anything. God says He will put our thoughts to the test! Our thoughts of our gods that we have created in our minds (power, might of physical arms, modern space age technology in our machines of war etc.) will not save us when the time comes for The Almighty to PUNISH AND CORRECT us!! We shall be like a piece of paper in the wind - blown away, weak and helpless. But those who will turn and trust the Lord, have living FAITH in Him, REPENT and accept Jesus as PERSONAL Savior, shall in the end, possess the land of promise and all the earth, nay even the whole universe, and the very family of God. 14 I will say, "Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones so my people can return from captivity." Yes, as we have seen throughout the book of Isaiah, Israel and Judah are in a state of CAPTIVITY, scattered in many nations of the world, when Jesus returns in power and glory. The way will be open for them to return to the land of promise, they shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, they shall come with WEEPING and in DEEP REPENTANCE. They shall then KNOW that God LIVES and that He has NOT forsaken His chosen people. They shall at last be a people that shines forth the righteous and holy ways of God to the rest of the world as it marches into that 1,000 years of the Kingdom of God on earth under Jesus Christ. God Forgives the Repentant 15 The high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: "I live in that high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts. 16 For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always show my anger. If I did, all people would pass away - all the souls I have made." Truly, if God kept His anger and showed no mercy, not one person would be left alive on this earth. 17 "I was angry and punished these greedy people. I withdrew myself from them, but they went right on sinning. 18 have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them and comfort those who mourn. 19 Then words of praise will be on their lips. May they have peace, both near and far, for I will heal them all," says the LORD. "But those who still reject me are like the restless sea. It is never still but continually churns up mire and dirt. 21 There is no peace for the wicked," says my God. God in some ways has corrected us, He has allowed destructions of various types to come on our towns and cities, but such did not in any deep way, bring us back to serving the Lord in spirit and in truth. He will punish in a final anger as never before, yet He will also comfort them and not keep His anger forever. God will HEAL us from our sins, although some of us continually put out mire and dirt of sin, for them there will be no peace, they will perish in death during the time of the last days of this age. True and False Worship CHAPTER 58 58 Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people Israel of their sins! 2 Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf. 3 "We have fasted before you!" they say. "Why aren't you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don't even notice it!" Oh yes, we can claim the name of being "Christian" nations, of having an outward show of Christianity. Some sections of our people say they go to church, want God to be a part of their lives, desire to say we should obey the laws of God. The "Christian" authors out there that write book after book, and sell and sell, is large indeed. True, in some ways we have a "righteous" exterior of Godly religion. We go through the motions of being a righteous people, and then we wonder why God allows sorrow to come our way. I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. 4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarrelling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD? 6 "No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. 7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." 8 If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer, "Yes, I am here," he will quickly reply. Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 12 Your children will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as the people who rebuild their walls and cities. True repentance, true attitude of mind, true work of spirituality, is serving others, giving to others as you can. Our wealth in the Western world is so HUGE, it is mind-bending, and we should be doing EVEN MORE than what many of us are doing to serve the needy of our lands and of the rest of the nations that are not in any way blessed as we are in physical wealth. If we would stop just having an outward form of religion then God would be on our side and would fight and protect us. We would then be the light of the world that the Holy One originally chose us for as we find in Deuteronomy chapter 4. 13 "Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD'S holy day. Honor the LORD in everything you do, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly. If you do this, 14 the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and give you your full share of the inheritance I promised to Jacob, your ancestor. I, the LORD, have spoken!" Notice, the Lord picks a commandment that most would call the very least commandment. He picks a law to do with the hours in a week. There is a TIME, a number of hours in a seven day period that God says are SPECIAL to Him! The human mind tends to have trouble with this law of the Lord. We may say to ourselves, "What's the big deal over certain 'hours' of the week?" It really matters not how we may think on this; God has hours that are special to Him, and He has told us to honor Him by honoring those hours. Those hours do point to creation. Creation is the GREAT PROOF that God DOES EXIST! We can be mystified by many things concerning God: How can He not have a beginning?: Where did He come from?; all this is beyond the human mind, but how can we not still believe He does exist when we set our minds on CREATION? THE DAY OF THE WEEK THAT LEADS US BACK TO CREATION WOULD KEEP US FOCUSSED ON THE TRUE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. THAT DAY THAT IS SPECIAL TO THE LORD IS THE 7TH DAY SABBATH. In this prophecy of the end-time, we are called to REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY IN OUR WORK AND EVEN OUR WORDS. WE ARE PROMISED THAT IN SO DOING WE SHALL BE GIVEN HONOR. WE HONOR HIM AND HE HONORS US BY KEEPING THE SABBATH DAY HOLY. Warnings against Sin CHAPTER 59 1 Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. 2 But there is a problem - your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. There is a KEY to having God hear you! It has to do with SIN! It is sin that cuts you off from the Eternal One. When the Lord reveals to you what sin is, you have a greater accountability. Our nations have KNOWN what sin is! We were founded on the Bible, and the Bible has revealed to us what is sin. We once could say with assurance this was sin or that was sin, but now that we have turned our back of the Bible we no longer can determine sin. Hence we now call good evil and evil we call good. We once KNEW that practicing homosexuality and lesbianism was SIN, but now we legalize same sex marriages! We could KNOW when life begins by letting the Bible reveal it to us, but we now KILL tens of thousands of un-born children every year! We have in our actions turned God away from us, and we wonder why we have such sorrow and pain and suffering. The bottom line is we have it because of SIN! 3 Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your mouth is full of lies, and your lips are tainted with corruption. Pretty plain words from God as to some of our sins! 4 No one cares about being fair and honest. Their lawsuits are based on lies. They spend their time plotting evil deeds and then doing them. 5 They spend their time and energy spinning evil plans that end up in deadly actions. 6 They cheat and shortchange everyone. Nothing they do is productive; all their activity is filled with sin. Violence is their trademark. 7 Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Wherever they go, misery and destruction follow them. 8 They do not know what true peace is or what it means to be just and good. They continually do wrong, and those who follow them cannot experience a moment's peace. Not a lot of clarity is needed by me here for you to understand many of our nation's sins, and what the Holy One is telling us. 9 It is because of all this evil that deliverance is far from us. That is why God doesn't punish those who injure us. No wonder we are in darkness when we expected light. No wonder we are walking in the gloom. 10 No wonder we grope like blind people and stumble along. Even at brightest noontime, we fall down as though it were dark. No wonder we are like corpses when compared to vigorous young men! 11 We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it is nowhere to be found. We look to be rescued, but it is far away from us. 12 For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are 13 We know that we have rebelled against the LORD. We have turned our backs on God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. 14 Our courts oppose people who are righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth falls dead in the streets, and fairness has been outlawed. 15 Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who tries to live a godly life is soon attacked. More plain truth words from our God. He here really lays down our sins in no uncertain terms. Our lands are full of all these sins. The LORD looked and was displeased to find that there was no justice. 16 He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his mighty power and justice. 17 He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with the robes of vengeance and godly fury. 18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes in distant lands. 19 Then at last they will respect and glorify the name of the LORD throughout the world. For he will come like a flood tide driven by the breath of the LORD. 20 "The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem," says the LORD, "to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins. 21 And this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children's children forever. I the LORD, have spoken!" Those who will TURN from their sins, God will honor by giving them His Spirit, and they and their children will serve the Eternal forever. The day of reckoning is coming. Those who will not repent of sin will be dealt with in no uncertain way. The Lord will not shut His eyes from the evil and sin of the world. A day of JUDGMENT will come, for now the Lord is patient, giving time to see if the people of Israel and other nations will HUMBLY REPENT! Those that will, will be blessed, those that do not, will see destruction come upon them. Future Glory for Jerusalem CHAPTER 60 1 Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the LORD is shining upon you. 2 Darkness as black as night will cover all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD will shine over you. 3 All nations will come to your light. Mighty kings will come to see your radiance. 4 Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home. 5 Your eyes will shine, and your hearts will thrill with joy, for merchants from around the world will come to you. They will bring you the wealth of many lands. 6 Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. From Sheba they will bring gold and incense for the worship of the LORD. 7 The flocks of Kedar will be given to you, and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars. In that day I will make my Temple glorious. This cannot be said about the Jews in the land of Palestine today. It is a promise of the beginning of the age to come. The age when Jesus will return to bring out the children of Israel from the lands of their enemies. 8 And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel, like doves to their nests? 9 They are the ships of Tarshish, reserved to bring the people of Israel home. They will bring their wealth with them, and it will bring great honor to the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he will fill you with splendor. 10 Foreigners will come to rebuild your cities. Kings and rulers will send you aid. For though I have destroyed you in my anger, I will have mercy on you through my grace. 11 Your gates will stay open around the clock to receive the wealth of many lands. The kings of the world will be led as captives in a victory procession. 12 For the nations that refuse to be your allies will be destroyed. 13 The glory of Lebanon will be yours - the forests of cypress, fir, and pine - to beautify my sanctuary. My Temple will be glorious! Once more, this CANNOT be said to have taken place. It cannot refer to the Jews coming back to the land of promise in the last 100 years or so. It is referring to the time at the beginning of the 1,000 year age when the people of Israel and Judah are restored to Jerusalem and the promised land. It is the time when any nation NOT honoring the people of Israel shall have destruction upon them. It will be the time of the construction of the NEW TEMPLE of God in Jerusalem - the Temple of Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48. 14 The children of your tormentors will come and bow before you. Those who despised you will kiss your feet. They will call you the City of the LORD, and Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Again, this has NEVER yet been fulfilled, it will be when the new age comes and Jesus is King in Jerusalem. 15 Though you were once despised and hated and rebuffed by all, you will be beautiful forever. You will be a joy to all generations, for I will make you so. 16 Powerful kings and mighty nations will bring the best of their goods to satisfy your every need. You will know at last that I, the LORD, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. 17 I will exchange your bronze for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for bronze, and your stones for iron. Peace and righteousness will be your leaders! 18 Violence will disappear from your land; the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there. And again, the words are plain, in no way can this prophecy be said to have already taken place. Violence has NOT disappeared from Jerusalem or the promised land. War has not ended for the peoples of Israel and Judah. Many are still loosing their lives in wars. Salvation cannot be said to be like towering city walls. Nations of the world are not bringing the best of their goods to Jerusalem. Many in Israel do NOT KNOW that God is the Lord and Savior, most of Israel and Judah are blinded to salvation through the Mighty One of Israel. This prophecy is for the age to come. 19 No longer will you need the sun or moon to give you light, for the LORD your God will be your everlasting light, and he will be your glory. 20 The sun will never set; the moon will not go down. For the LORD will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end. 21 "All your people will be righteous. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands in order to bring myself glory. 22 The smallest family will multiply into a large clan. The tiniest group will become a mighty nation. I, the LORD, will bring it all to pass at the right time." It is CLEARLY speaking about a NEW AGE! It is NOT for this age that all this prophecy concerns. It is concerning the NEW AGE TO COME. Beyond all the sorrow, pain, destruction, death, there will come THE DELIVER - Jesus the Christ, who will come to set up the Kingdom of God on earth, who will come to RESTORE Israel and Judah, to bring them back from the lands of their enemies, to establish them in the Promised Land, to build them again, to pour out His Spirit on them, to bless them, to finally make them into the LIGHT of the world for all other nations to model themselves after. What wonderful words of prophecy are contained in the book of Isaiah. Some concerning the Messiah that DID ALREADY COME in the form of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to be the Savior of all people, and some concerning the Jesus Christ who WILL COME as KING and LORD, to reign over the nations for 1,000 glorious years. So COME Lord Jesus, come! ..................... Written
Isaiah For Today #14
Chapters 57 to 60
ISAIAH FOR TODAY #14 Chapters 57 - 60 From the New-Living Translation CHAPTER 57 1 The righteous pass away, the godly often die before their time. And no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. 2 For the godly who die will rest in peace. Here is a truth that is not a contradiction of the Bible, just a truth as part of the whole of the Bible and the whole of human life. Sometimes it is not the will of the Father that every Christian lives to ripe old age. There are generalities in the Bible, as the 3 score and 10 (70 years of age spoken about by David in the Psalms) and by reason of strength even more, is a generality for the span of human age. Some live to VERY OLD age - into their late 80s or even 90s, a few to 100 and fewer yet to over 100. How long we live is the bottom line as they say, to what the Eternal God determines. The main thing for the child of God is to live each day we are given as His servant, doing His will, being more like Christ, helping and serving others in the best way we can and with the means that the Lord has given us. To those who are given more then more is expected. From the time you are called to serve God, it is the QUALITY not the quantity that counts. My friend and co-worker in the Lord, Jesse, did not live but to be 46 years old, but in the years she was given to serve the Lord after being called and chosen, she left a service to you all with her website, which is on this website. There is QUALITY in her work. For those of us who will live to see the coming of the end of this age, the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, there will be MUCH sorrow and pain and hardship and death (as never in human history). It will not be a pleasant sight or experience to endure through. Those of us who die in the Lord BEFORE that time of the end, will be spared and protected from the evil to come. These verses here tell us that at times there is peace and rest in death. Idolatrous Worship Condemned 3 But you - come here, you witches' children, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes! 4 Whom do you mock, making faces and sticking out your tongues? You children of sinners and liars! 5 You worship your idols with great passion beneath every green tree. You slaughter your children as human sacrifices down in the valleys, under overhanging rocks. 6 Your gods are the smooth stones in the valleys. You worship them with drink offerings and grain offerings. They, not I, are your inheritance. Does all this make me happy? 7 You have committed adultery on the mountaintops by worshipping idols there, and so you have been unfaithful to me. 8 Behind closed doors, you have set up your idols and worship them instead of me. This is adultery, for you are loving these idols instead of loving me. You have climbed right into bed with these detestable gods. 9 You have given olive oil and perfume to Molech as your gift. You have travelled far, even into the world of the dead, to find new gods to love. 10 You grew weary in your search, but you never gave up. You strengthened yourself and went on. 11 Why were you more afraid of them than of me? How is it that you don't even remember me or think about me? Is it because I have not corrected you that you have no fear of me? This is the overall state of our peoples Israel and Judah, the Western world in the main. We are more and more materialistic, pleasure seeking, sports crazy, entertainment crazy. We sacrifice our children to the sound and sight of the TV, the Computer, the wild Music, the drinking Parties of High Schools and Universities, the secularism and evolution of our Education. We travel far today to export or import the evil and sin of our de-moralized ways. We grow weary with this fad and so look for another fad. We go into the world of the occult and the star-gazers, the wizards and witches. We are ever, more and more, NOT even thinking about the creator of this universe. God asks the question that is it because we have not YET been CORRECTED by the Lord that we have gone far from Him and His way of life. Yes, it probably is. It is the nature of Israelites to FORGET our God when things increase for us in a materialistic way. But this will not go on forever. God will CORRECT!! 12 Now I will expose your so-called good deeds that you consider so righteous. None of them will benefit or save you. 13 Let's see if your idols can do anything for you when you cry to them for help. They are so helpless that a breath of wind can knock them down! But whoever trusts in me will possess the land and inherit my holy mountain. THE DAY OF RECKONING IS COMING. All that we have will not save us. Even what some consider to be our righteous deeds, will not count for anything. God says He will put our thoughts to the test! Our thoughts of our gods that we have created in our minds (power, might of physical arms, modern space age technology in our machines of war etc.) will not save us when the time comes for The Almighty to PUNISH AND CORRECT us!! We shall be like a piece of paper in the wind - blown away, weak and helpless. But those who will turn and trust the Lord, have living FAITH in Him, REPENT and accept Jesus as PERSONAL Savior, shall in the end, possess the land of promise and all the earth, nay even the whole universe, and the very family of God. 14 I will say, "Rebuild the road! Clear away the rocks and stones so my people can return from captivity." Yes, as we have seen throughout the book of Isaiah, Israel and Judah are in a state of CAPTIVITY, scattered in many nations of the world, when Jesus returns in power and glory. The way will be open for them to return to the land of promise, they shall come from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, they shall come with WEEPING and in DEEP REPENTANCE. They shall then KNOW that God LIVES and that He has NOT forsaken His chosen people. They shall at last be a people that shines forth the righteous and holy ways of God to the rest of the world as it marches into that 1,000 years of the Kingdom of God on earth under Jesus Christ. God Forgives the Repentant 15 The high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: "I live in that high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts. 16 For I will not fight against you forever; I will not always show my anger. If I did, all people would pass away - all the souls I have made." Truly, if God kept His anger and showed no mercy, not one person would be left alive on this earth. 17 "I was angry and punished these greedy people. I withdrew myself from them, but they went right on sinning. 18 have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them and comfort those who mourn. 19 Then words of praise will be on their lips. May they have peace, both near and far, for I will heal them all," says the LORD. "But those who still reject me are like the restless sea. It is never still but continually churns up mire and dirt. 21 There is no peace for the wicked," says my God. God in some ways has corrected us, He has allowed destructions of various types to come on our towns and cities, but such did not in any deep way, bring us back to serving the Lord in spirit and in truth. He will punish in a final anger as never before, yet He will also comfort them and not keep His anger forever. God will HEAL us from our sins, although some of us continually put out mire and dirt of sin, for them there will be no peace, they will perish in death during the time of the last days of this age. True and False Worship CHAPTER 58 58 Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people Israel of their sins! 2 Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf. 3 "We have fasted before you!" they say. "Why aren't you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don't even notice it!" Oh yes, we can claim the name of being "Christian" nations, of having an outward show of Christianity. Some sections of our people say they go to church, want God to be a part of their lives, desire to say we should obey the laws of God. The "Christian" authors out there that write book after book, and sell and sell, is large indeed. True, in some ways we have a "righteous" exterior of Godly religion. We go through the motions of being a righteous people, and then we wonder why God allows sorrow to come our way. I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. 4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarrelling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD? 6 "No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. 7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." 8 If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind. 9 Then when you call, the LORD will answer, "Yes, I am here," he will quickly reply. Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors! 10 Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 12 Your children will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as the people who rebuild their walls and cities. True repentance, true attitude of mind, true work of spirituality, is serving others, giving to others as you can. Our wealth in the Western world is so HUGE, it is mind-bending, and we should be doing EVEN MORE than what many of us are doing to serve the needy of our lands and of the rest of the nations that are not in any way blessed as we are in physical wealth. If we would stop just having an outward form of religion then God would be on our side and would fight and protect us. We would then be the light of the world that the Holy One originally chose us for as we find in Deuteronomy chapter 4. 13 "Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD'S holy day. Honor the LORD in everything you do, and don't follow your own desires or talk idly. If you do this, 14 the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and give you your full share of the inheritance I promised to Jacob, your ancestor. I, the LORD, have spoken!" Notice, the Lord picks a commandment that most would call the very least commandment. He picks a law to do with the hours in a week. There is a TIME, a number of hours in a seven day period that God says are SPECIAL to Him! The human mind tends to have trouble with this law of the Lord. We may say to ourselves, "What's the big deal over certain 'hours' of the week?" It really matters not how we may think on this; God has hours that are special to Him, and He has told us to honor Him by honoring those hours. Those hours do point to creation. Creation is the GREAT PROOF that God DOES EXIST! We can be mystified by many things concerning God: How can He not have a beginning?: Where did He come from?; all this is beyond the human mind, but how can we not still believe He does exist when we set our minds on CREATION? THE DAY OF THE WEEK THAT LEADS US BACK TO CREATION WOULD KEEP US FOCUSSED ON THE TRUE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. THAT DAY THAT IS SPECIAL TO THE LORD IS THE 7TH DAY SABBATH. In this prophecy of the end-time, we are called to REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY IN OUR WORK AND EVEN OUR WORDS. WE ARE PROMISED THAT IN SO DOING WE SHALL BE GIVEN HONOR. WE HONOR HIM AND HE HONORS US BY KEEPING THE SABBATH DAY HOLY. Warnings against Sin CHAPTER 59 1 Listen! The LORD is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. 2 But there is a problem - your sins have cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. There is a KEY to having God hear you! It has to do with SIN! It is sin that cuts you off from the Eternal One. When the Lord reveals to you what sin is, you have a greater accountability. Our nations have KNOWN what sin is! We were founded on the Bible, and the Bible has revealed to us what is sin. We once could say with assurance this was sin or that was sin, but now that we have turned our back of the Bible we no longer can determine sin. Hence we now call good evil and evil we call good. We once KNEW that practicing homosexuality and lesbianism was SIN, but now we legalize same sex marriages! We could KNOW when life begins by letting the Bible reveal it to us, but we now KILL tens of thousands of un-born children every year! We have in our actions turned God away from us, and we wonder why we have such sorrow and pain and suffering. The bottom line is we have it because of SIN! 3 Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your mouth is full of lies, and your lips are tainted with corruption. Pretty plain words from God as to some of our sins! 4 No one cares about being fair and honest. Their lawsuits are based on lies. They spend their time plotting evil deeds and then doing them. 5 They spend their time and energy spinning evil plans that end up in deadly actions. 6 They cheat and shortchange everyone. Nothing they do is productive; all their activity is filled with sin. Violence is their trademark. 7 Their feet run to do evil, and they rush to commit murder. They think only about sinning. Wherever they go, misery and destruction follow them. 8 They do not know what true peace is or what it means to be just and good. They continually do wrong, and those who follow them cannot experience a moment's peace. Not a lot of clarity is needed by me here for you to understand many of our nation's sins, and what the Holy One is telling us. 9 It is because of all this evil that deliverance is far from us. That is why God doesn't punish those who injure us. No wonder we are in darkness when we expected light. No wonder we are walking in the gloom. 10 No wonder we grope like blind people and stumble along. Even at brightest noontime, we fall down as though it were dark. No wonder we are like corpses when compared to vigorous young men! 11 We growl like hungry bears; we moan like mournful doves. We look for justice, but it is nowhere to be found. We look to be rescued, but it is far away from us. 12 For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are 13 We know that we have rebelled against the LORD. We have turned our backs on God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies. 14 Our courts oppose people who are righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth falls dead in the streets, and fairness has been outlawed. 15 Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who tries to live a godly life is soon attacked. More plain truth words from our God. He here really lays down our sins in no uncertain terms. Our lands are full of all these sins. The LORD looked and was displeased to find that there was no justice. 16 He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his mighty power and justice. 17 He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with the robes of vengeance and godly fury. 18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes in distant lands. 19 Then at last they will respect and glorify the name of the LORD throughout the world. For he will come like a flood tide driven by the breath of the LORD. 20 "The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem," says the LORD, "to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins. 21 And this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children's children forever. I the LORD, have spoken!" Those who will TURN from their sins, God will honor by giving them His Spirit, and they and their children will serve the Eternal forever. The day of reckoning is coming. Those who will not repent of sin will be dealt with in no uncertain way. The Lord will not shut His eyes from the evil and sin of the world. A day of JUDGMENT will come, for now the Lord is patient, giving time to see if the people of Israel and other nations will HUMBLY REPENT! Those that will, will be blessed, those that do not, will see destruction come upon them. Future Glory for Jerusalem CHAPTER 60 1 Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the LORD is shining upon you. 2 Darkness as black as night will cover all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD will shine over you. 3 All nations will come to your light. Mighty kings will come to see your radiance. 4 Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home. 5 Your eyes will shine, and your hearts will thrill with joy, for merchants from around the world will come to you. They will bring you the wealth of many lands. 6 Vast caravans of camels will converge on you, the camels of Midian and Ephah. From Sheba they will bring gold and incense for the worship of the LORD. 7 The flocks of Kedar will be given to you, and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars. In that day I will make my Temple glorious. This cannot be said about the Jews in the land of Palestine today. It is a promise of the beginning of the age to come. The age when Jesus will return to bring out the children of Israel from the lands of their enemies. 8 And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel, like doves to their nests? 9 They are the ships of Tarshish, reserved to bring the people of Israel home. They will bring their wealth with them, and it will bring great honor to the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he will fill you with splendor. 10 Foreigners will come to rebuild your cities. Kings and rulers will send you aid. For though I have destroyed you in my anger, I will have mercy on you through my grace. 11 Your gates will stay open around the clock to receive the wealth of many lands. The kings of the world will be led as captives in a victory procession. 12 For the nations that refuse to be your allies will be destroyed. 13 The glory of Lebanon will be yours - the forests of cypress, fir, and pine - to beautify my sanctuary. My Temple will be glorious! Once more, this CANNOT be said to have taken place. It cannot refer to the Jews coming back to the land of promise in the last 100 years or so. It is referring to the time at the beginning of the 1,000 year age when the people of Israel and Judah are restored to Jerusalem and the promised land. It is the time when any nation NOT honoring the people of Israel shall have destruction upon them. It will be the time of the construction of the NEW TEMPLE of God in Jerusalem - the Temple of Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48. 14 The children of your tormentors will come and bow before you. Those who despised you will kiss your feet. They will call you the City of the LORD, and Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Again, this has NEVER yet been fulfilled, it will be when the new age comes and Jesus is King in Jerusalem. 15 Though you were once despised and hated and rebuffed by all, you will be beautiful forever. You will be a joy to all generations, for I will make you so. 16 Powerful kings and mighty nations will bring the best of their goods to satisfy your every need. You will know at last that I, the LORD, am your Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel. 17 I will exchange your bronze for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for bronze, and your stones for iron. Peace and righteousness will be your leaders! 18 Violence will disappear from your land; the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there. And again, the words are plain, in no way can this prophecy be said to have already taken place. Violence has NOT disappeared from Jerusalem or the promised land. War has not ended for the peoples of Israel and Judah. Many are still loosing their lives in wars. Salvation cannot be said to be like towering city walls. Nations of the world are not bringing the best of their goods to Jerusalem. Many in Israel do NOT KNOW that God is the Lord and Savior, most of Israel and Judah are blinded to salvation through the Mighty One of Israel. This prophecy is for the age to come. 19 No longer will you need the sun or moon to give you light, for the LORD your God will be your everlasting light, and he will be your glory. 20 The sun will never set; the moon will not go down. For the LORD will be your everlasting light. Your days of mourning will come to an end. 21 "All your people will be righteous. They will possess their land forever, for I will plant them there with my own hands in order to bring myself glory. 22 The smallest family will multiply into a large clan. The tiniest group will become a mighty nation. I, the LORD, will bring it all to pass at the right time." It is CLEARLY speaking about a NEW AGE! It is NOT for this age that all this prophecy concerns. It is concerning the NEW AGE TO COME. Beyond all the sorrow, pain, destruction, death, there will come THE DELIVER - Jesus the Christ, who will come to set up the Kingdom of God on earth, who will come to RESTORE Israel and Judah, to bring them back from the lands of their enemies, to establish them in the Promised Land, to build them again, to pour out His Spirit on them, to bless them, to finally make them into the LIGHT of the world for all other nations to model themselves after. What wonderful words of prophecy are contained in the book of Isaiah. Some concerning the Messiah that DID ALREADY COME in the form of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to be the Savior of all people, and some concerning the Jesus Christ who WILL COME as KING and LORD, to reign over the nations for 1,000 glorious years. So COME Lord Jesus, come!

Isaiah For Today #15

Chapters 61 to 66

Chapters 61 - 66 From the New-Living Translation CHAPTER 61 Good News for the Oppressed 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel (Heb.Zion) he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory. This was quoted by Christ at the beginning of His ministry (Luke 4:18) but He stopped as it is in the KJV with verse 1, for verse two begins the prophecy of the end time for this age. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities long ago destroyed. They will revive them, though they have been empty for many generations. 5 Foreigners will be your servants. They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards. 6 You will be called priests of the LORD, ministers of our God. You will be fed with the treasures of the nations and will boast in their riches. 7 Instead of shame and dishonor, you will inherit a double portion of prosperity and everlasting joy. 8 "For I, the LORD, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known and honored among the nations. Everyone will realize that they are a people the LORD has blessed." This cannot be said about Israel/Judah/Zion/Jerusalem today. there may be a part fulfilment but it has not reached its final and forever accomplishment of reality. 10 I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels. 11 The Sovereign LORD will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, filled with young plants springing up everywhere. At the final end of this age and the restoration of Jerusalem and the peoples of Israel and Judah, truly these will be the words that will echo in the holy promised land. CHAPTER 62 Isaiah's Prayer for Jerusalem 1 Because I love Zion, because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. 2 The nations will see your righteousness. Kings will be blinded by your glory. And the LORD will give you a new name. 3 The LORD will hold you in his hands for all to see - a splendid crown in the hands of God. 4 Never again will you be called the God-forsaken City or the Desolate Land. Your new name will be the City of God's Delight and the Bride of God, for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his own. 5 Your children will care for you with joy, O Jerusalem, just as a young man cares for his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. This has not yet taken place, but it will when the Messiah comes in glory to claim Jerusalem and Israel-Judah to dwell with them forever more. 6 0 Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray to the LORD day and night for the fulfilment of this promise. Take no rest all of you who pray. 7 Give the LORD no rest until he makes Jerusalem the object of praise throughout the earth. 8 The LORD has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: "I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and wine. 9 You raised it, and you will keep it, praising the LORD. Within the courtyards of the Temple, you yourselves will drink the wine that you have pressed." Once more this cannot be said to have taken place in Jerusalem and the holy land. 10 Go out! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see. 11 The LORD has sent this message to every land: "Tell the people of Israel (Heb. the daughters of Zion) 'Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.'" 12 They will be called the Holy People and the People Redeemed by the LORD. And Jerusalem will be known as the "Desirable Place" and the "City No Longer Forsaken." It is the coming of the Messiah Christ in power and glory; that is the whole context; He comes to free Jerusalem from the Beast power of Europe, and to set up the Kingdom of God on earth. CHAPTER 63 Judgment against the LORD's Enemies 1 Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength? 2 Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out grapes? 3 "I have trodden the winepress alone; no one was there to help me. In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. It is their blood that has stained my clothes." This is the mighty power of Christ as He returns to earth as a warring King, to smash His enemies, to destroy those who are destroying the earth. The great battle of Armageddon from the plain about 70 miles north-west of Jerusalem to the south of that city down to the ancient land of Edom. A flowing river of blood it will be, as I have shown in other in-depth studies on this website concerning that mighty battle. 4 "For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors. 5 I looked, but no one came to help my people. I was amazed and appalled at what I saw. So I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I passed down judgment. 6 I crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground." Yes, with the angelic armies and the saints raised by a resurrection at the coming of Christ, Jesus will wage war on those who will fight against Him, the armies if the Europe Beast power and the armies of the kings of the East. It is the time to free the captives of Israel and Judah, to restore them to the Promised Land, to deliver them from their enemies. All I have explained in detail in other prophetic studies on this Website. Praise for Deliverance 7 I will tell of the LORD'S unfailing love. I will praise the LORD for all he has done. I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel, which he has granted according to his mercy and love. 8 He said, "They are my very own people. Surely they will not be false again." And he became their Savior. 9 In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years. Yes, it will be a PERSONAL delivery He will do to restore and redeem the whole house of Israel (all 13 tribes). They will be false to Him no more. This cannot be said of the tribes of Israel today, but when this prophecy comes to pass it surely will be said of them that they will never again be false in any way to the Lord their God. The Almighty was not joyful in having to punish them, it grieved Him to do so, to allow their enemies to destroy them and take them captive, but it was needful to be done to bring them to deep and full REPENTANCE. Their God will personally come and rescue them from the lands of their enemies. 10 But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. That is why he became their enemy and fought against them. 11 Then they remembered those days of old when Moses led his people out of Egypt. They cried out, "Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd? Where is the one who sent his Holy Spirit to be among his people? 12 Where is the one whose power divided the sea before them, when Moses lifted up his hand, establishing his reputation forever? 13 Where is the one who led them through the bottom of the sea? They were like fine stallions racing through the desert, never stumbling. 14 As with cattle going down into a peaceful valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. You led your people, LORD, and gained a magnificent reputation." At the time of the end of this age, when the Great Tribulation will be upon this earth, and the mighty Day of the Lord has come, Israel and Judah will be reminded of the super- natural deliverance of the Exodus under Moses. They will turn and cry out to the Lord to once more use His glorious power to deliver them from their enemies. He will hear and He will come to deliver them. Prayer for Mercy and Pardon 15 LORD, look down from heaven and see us from your holy, glorious home. Where is the passion and the might you used to show on our behalf? Where are your mercy and compassion now? 16 Surely you are still our Father! Even if Abraham and Jacob (Heb. Israel) would disown us, LORD, you would still be our Father. You are our Redeemer from ages past. 17 LORD, why have you allowed us to turn from your path? Why have you given us stubborn hearts so we no longer fear you? Return and help us, for we are your servants and your special possession. 18 How briefly your holy people possessed the holy place, and now our enemies have destroyed it. 19 LORD, why do you treat us as though we never belonged to you? Why do you act as though we had never been known as your people? The people of Israel and Judah will indeed for a time wonder why their God (though they did not follow or look to Him in their latter years) turned away from them. He delivered them from TWO World Wars, BUT the third one (yet to come at the close of this age) they found they were not delivered. They will question if their God still loves them. In the thought of it all they will come to realize their sins, their terrible sins, were the reason their God had to punish them. They will begin to walk the pathway of REPENTANCE. CHAPTER 64 1 Oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in your presence! 2 As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil, your coming would make the nations tremble. Then your enemies would learn the reason for your fame! 3 When you came down long ago, you did awesome things beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! 4 For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! 5 You welcome those who cheerfully do good, who follow godly ways. But we are not godly. We are constant sinners, so your anger is heavy on us. How can people like us be saved? 6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away. 7 Yet no one calls on your name or pleads with you for mercy. Therefore, you have turned away from us and turned us over to our sins. Israel and Judah will remember the might of the true God. They will remember the Lord welcomes them that do good, who are willing to follow Him. They will remember all this punishment that has come on them is because of their sins. They will feel they deserve no mercy. They will realize that any good they had and did was as filthy rags. They will realize that for a time no persons (in the majority - only a very few) called on God with a true heart of turning from sin, and so they will come to understand why it seemed that their God had turned His back on them. For those in Israel today, who will read their Bibles and who will search for the commandments of the Lord, to them, it is obvious as to the many and grievous sins of our nations. To them it is clearly seen that we have no political leaders, no religious leaders, that will lead the people out of our sins and back to the pathway of the Holy One. So, we shall in the appointed time, be turned over to the penalty of sin, which is death and destruction. It is written only ONE in TEN of our people shall remain alive by the time of Christ's coming again to earth. 8 And yet, LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand. 9 Oh, don't be so angry with us, LORD. Please don't remember our sins forever. Look at us, we pray, and see that we are all your people. 10 Your holy cities are destroyed; even Jerusalem is a desolate wilderness. 11 The holy, beautiful Temple where our ancestors praised you has been burned down, and all the things of beauty are destroyed. 12 After all this, LORD, must you still refuse to help us? Will you continue to be silent and punish us? Yes, for a while, it will seem there will be no hope for the children of Israel. Judgment and Final Salvation 1 The LORD says, "People who never before inquired about me are now asking about me. I am being found by people who were not looking for me. To them I have said, 'I am here!' 2 I opened my arms to my own people all day long, but they have rebelled. They follow their own evil paths and thoughts. 3 All day long they insult me to my face by worshipping idols in their sacred gardens. They burn incense on the rooftops of their homes. 4 At night they go out among the graves and secret places to worship evil spirits. They also eat pork and other forbidden foods. Yet they say to each other, 'Don't come too close or you will defile me! I am holier than you!' They are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away." Sometimes it is others who are not Israelites who are more ready to accept the pathway of the God of Israel. The Almighty has always had His servants proclaiming His truths and way of life to the people of Israel and Judah, but for the most part those people would not hear, they wanted to follow their own ways, they did not want God telling them how to live, even how to eat. They wanted to serve their own passions and desires in their religious life and in their physical life. They had their own self-righteous ideas and thought and just wanted to do their own thing their own way, the way that seemed right to them, which was the way of sin and death at the end of the road they wanted to walk. So great the sins they chose they became a STENCH in the nostrils of God, an ACRID SMELL that never goes away. 6 "Look, my decree is written out in front of me: I will not stand silent; I will repay them in full! Yes, I will repay them 7 both for their own sins and for those of their ancestors," says the LORD. "For they also burned incense on the mountains and insulted me on the hills. I will pay them back in full! 8 But I will not destroy them all," says the LORD. "For just as good grapes are found among a cluster of bad ones (and someone will say, 'Don't throw them all away - there are some good grapes there!'), so I will not destroy all Israel. For I still have true servants there. 9 I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel and of Judah to possess my land. Those I choose will inherit it and serve me there. 10 For my people who have searched for me, the plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks, and the valley of Achor will be a place to pasture herds." There it is. There is a REMNANT in Israel and Judah, a called out, a chosen group, by election and grace. There will be 144,000 as mentioned in the book of Revelation, that will REPENT and TURN to serve the true God, and they will be in the first resurrection at the coming of Christ. There will be others in Israel and Judah who will seem the errors of their ways and who will be spared. Utter destruction will not happen to the children Israel and Judah. A prophecy in another book of the prophets tells us ONE in TEN will be alive at the coming of the Messiah to rule the earth. Those will go into the new age to come as physical human beings to inherit the Holy Land, to re-build the towns and cities and to enjoy the blessings of the 1,000 year age of the Kingdom of God on earth under Jesus Christ and the now immortal saints of all ages. 11 "But because the rest of you have forsaken the LORD and his Temple and worship the gods of Fate and Destiny, 12 I will 'destine' you to the sword. All of you will bow before the executioner, for when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. You deliberately sinned - before my very eyes - and chose to do what you know I despise." The true way, the true temple of the Lord, has been proclaimed to Israel and Judah. This is ONE of the world-wide websites devoted to proclaiming that truth. But though it is there, shouting out the righteousness of the Lord and showing the people their sins, calling out to REPENT and turn and be converted to the pathway of the most High and Holy God, it is sad to know it will ONLY BE A FEW that WILL REPENT and turn from their sins. God has His servants out there! They will be telling the people of Israel and Judah their sins and the way of salvation, but most have shut their eyes to truth, they will deliberately want to continue in the way that seems right to them, which is mainly what the Eternal God despises. 13 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "You will starve, but my servants will eat. You will be thirsty, but they will drink. You will be sad and ashamed, but they will rejoice. 14 You will cry in sorrow and despair, while my servants sing for joy. 15 Your name will be a curse word among my people, for the Sovereign LORD will destroy you and call his true servants by another name. 16 All who invoke a blessing or take an oath will do so by the God of truth. For I will put aside my anger and forget the evil of earlier days." Eventually the righteous will win the day. They will be vindicated, while the willful sinners shall meet destruction. Yet in the final end all who remain alive shall KNOW the true God and His true ways of life and blessing. The Lord will put away His anger and turn the evil days into good days for all people. 17 "Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth - so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. 18 Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more. 20 No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only sinners will die that young! 21 In those days, people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. 22 It will not be like the past, when invaders took the houses and confiscated the vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees and will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. 23 They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed by the LORD, and their children, too, will be blessed. 24 I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! 25 The wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the LORD, have spoken!" What a wonderful prophecy of the good to come on this earth and to the people of Israel. It will indeed be a new heaven and earth in that new age to come at the return of Christ the Messiah. People will live as long as trees, the nature of wild animals will be changed. We saw this already in chapter 11. There will be no more destruction in the Holy Land. The world will experience peace as never before in its history. Children in that age will not be doomed to the sorrow that many face today. The Lord will be so close to people that even before they ask He will answer them. All this has never happened before in the way it is given here. It is a prophecy for the age to come. CHAPTER 66 1 This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you ever build me a temple as good as that? Could you build a dwelling place for me? 2 My hands have made both heaven and earth, and they are mine. I, the LORD, have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word." Ah, one of the key verses in the Bible to tell you how to be acceptable to God. You need to be HUMBLE (teachable, repentable, loving truth, willing to search and hunger for righteousness, correctable) and you need to FEAR the WORD of God. It is not the ways or ideas or opinions of men or women you need to fear, but it is the very word of God that you must fear. These two attitudes of the mind and heart are a MUST if you want to walk with the Eternal God, if you want to be the friend of God, if you want to be His son or daughter. 3 But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed. Their offerings will not be accepted. When such people sacrifice an ox, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice. When they sacrifice a lamb or bring an offering of grain, it is as bad as putting a dog or the blood of a pig on the altar! When they burn incense, it is as if they had blessed an idol. 4 I will send great troubles against them - all the things they feared. For when I called, they did not answer. When I spoke, they did not listen. They deliberately sinned - before my very eyes - and chose to do what they know I despise." It is very plain. God does not delight in those who decide to choose their own ways, to do their own thing. Many, most today, do not want to listen to the call of God. They shut Him out, they will not be corrected; they will not repent of sin; they want to serve the Lord in "their way" as they see fit, how they see fit, when they see fit. All this is an abomination to the Holy One. 5 Hear this message from the LORD, and tremble at his words: "Your close relatives hate you and throw you out for being loyal to my name. 'Let the LORD be honored!' they scoff. 'Be joyful in him!' But they will be put to shame." 6 What is all the commotion in the city? What is that terrible noise from the Temple? It is the voice of the LORD taking vengeance against his enemies. 7 "Before the birth pains even begin, Jerusalem gives birth to a son. 8 Who has ever seen or heard of anything as strange as this? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment? But by the time Jerusalem's (Heb. Zion's) birth pains begin, the baby will be born; the nation will come forth. 9 Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth and then not deliver it?" asks the LORD. "No! I would never keep this nation from being born," says your God. It will only be in a very short time frame that the good promised to Jerusalem/Zion will be accomplished, as a baby born before labor begins. 10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem! Be glad with her, all you who love her and mourn for her. 11 Delight in Jerusalem! Drink deeply of her glory even as an infant drinks at its mother's generous breasts. 12 Peace and prosperity will overflow Jerusalem like a river," says the LORD. "The wealth of the nations will flow to her. Her children will be nursed at her breasts, carried in her arms, and treated with love. 13 I will comfort you there as a child is comforted by its mother." Yes, much good and blessings are promised to come upon the city of Jerusalem in the new age to come. 14 When you see these things, your heart will rejoice. Vigorous health will be yours! Everyone will see the good hand of the LORD on his people - and his anger against his enemies. 15 See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his swift chariots of destruction roar like a whirlwind. He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke. 16 The LORD will punish the world by fire and by his sword, and many will be killed by the LORD. There is promised GOOD to come on Jerusalem, but at the same time, there is promised DESTRUCTION on the enemies of the Lord. The end of this age is BITTER and SWEET. BITTER for those who desire to ignore the Lord and disregard His commandments and holy way of life, and SWEET to those who will REPENT of sin, who will humble themselves and who will fear the word of the God. 17 "Those who 'purify' themselves in a sacred garden, feasting on pork and rats and other forbidden meats, will come to a terrible end," says the LORD. 18 "I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory." This is a prophecy clearly for the end of this age, when God shall come in His GLORY! You will notice the Lord STILL has His laws of clean and unclean foods in action. They have never been "done away with" as false prophets like to tell you. 19 "I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations - to Tarshish, to the Libyans* (Heb. Pul) and Lydians (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. 2 They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD. They will ride on horses in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels," says the LORD. 21 "And I will appoint some of those who return to be my priests and Levites. I, the LORD, have spoken!" Not all people on earth will be destroyed by the Lord when He comes again. Here we have Spain (Tarshish); Pul (West and Central Africa); Lud (North Africa); Tubal (North Russia); Javan (Japan); and other lands of the earth where Israel and Judah have been scattered, nations that for different reasons have not heard the fame and glory of the Lord, and those people will help bring back Israelites to the Holy Land. Those nations shall come to KNOW the true God, and they shall be part of the people who shall send missionaries to other nations of the earth to inform them of the God of Israel. There will be MUCH true education going forth to those who live into the 1,000 year age to come. It will take some time to bring the world under the rulership and way of life of the Messiah and the resurrected saints now with Him. It is the will of God that the Kingdom of God take a number of years to spread around the world and rule all nations with a righteous and holy rod of iron. 22 "As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain, so will you always be my people, with a name that will never disappear," says the LORD. 23 "All humanity will come to worship me from week to week and from month to month. The translation is poor here, the KJV gives a better translation of the Hebrew as it is, "from new moon to his new moon, and from sabbath to his sabbath." The weekly Sabbath and New month day have never been "abolished" - they were, they are, and they will be, at least till the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21 comes into reality. 24 "And as they go out, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me. For the worms that devour them will never die, and the fire that burns them will never go out. All who pass by will view them with utter horror. " 66:19a[Libya]; Hebrew reads Pul. 66:19b Hebrew Lud. 66:19c Hebrew Javan The last verse is sobering. God will one day judge the people of the earth. Those who rebel, who will not put themselves under His laws and way of living, shall be destroyed. There will be a fire even in that age to come, to devour the rebellious sinners. The Beast man and False prophet will be cast into it at the coming of the Messiah (Revelation 19). The worms that eat the dead bodies turn into flies, the worms die not, and the fire will not be put out till all is ended with the coming of the new earth and heaven as given in Revelation 21 and 22. All the plan of God will come to pass. The prophecies of old in the book of Isaiah concerning the FIRST coming of the Messiah were fulfilled exactly and literally as given in Isaiah. So all the prophecies concerning His SECOND coming in glory and power to rule over the nations of the earth for 1,000 years, will also come to pass, just as literal. A new age is to come. All you have read about in this book and prophecy of Isaiah is as sure to take place as the rising of the sun, nay even more sure. There is WARNING and there is PUNISHMENT for many nations of this earth, including the peoples of the House of Israel (most of the Western world) and Judah (the Jews in the Holy Land). But there is also GOOD NEWS of SALVATION and RESTORATION for Israel, Judah, and for all nations. There is to be a re-newing of the earth, a transformation of the earth, a changing even of the nature of the animals, so the lion will eat straw as like the ox. We have seen the HIGHS and the LOWS of what is yet to come on this earth, but the END of the matter is GLORIOUS and WONDERFUL - BEYOND what the human mind can imagine at this time. The picture we get from Isaiah is just a shadow of the reality of what it will one day be like on this planet we call earth. So we continue to pray, "Thy Kingdom COME, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." .................... The book of "Isaiah for Today" finished in August 2008.

The Meltdown Continues

Thursday, August 28, 2025

ISAIAH -- PROPHECY FOR TODAY 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 END

ISAIAH the prophet For TODAY!

It shall come to Pass ....

Destruction of the Earth

New Living Translation

A Song of Praise to the Lord

New Living Translation

Isaiah For Today #8

Punishment but Mercy and Restoration

Isaiah For Today #9

There is no one Above the Lord

Isaiah For Today #14

Chapters 57 to 60

Isaiah For Today #15

Chapters 61 to 66

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