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 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, 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 Entered on this Website April 2008 |
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