| << | Contents | >> |
Articles 2021-2023
Many years before Christ, Isaiah prophesied that at some point in history God would gather together the armies of the nations for confrontation and destruction.
Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it. For the LORD’S indignation is against all the nations, and His wrath against all their armies;
Where would this confrontation between God and earth’s armies occur? To this day, the world has never been unified enough to gather its forces as one for a single purpose. And yet surely, that day is coming (Isaiah 34:2 - 3). The spirit of globalism continues to work in our generation. Some years after Isaiah prophesied, Zechariah also foretold how God would draw all nations to battle against Jerusalem so that He might then arise, fight them, and bring Israel home to Himself where she recognizes Jesus as her Messiah (Zechariah 14). It seems that Israel will be the scene where this great confrontation will take place.
In that day, the Lord will arise and incapacitate all the armies of heaven, the principalities and powers operating in the shadows and influencing the various national cultures and societies.
And all the host (Hebrew, TSABA – armies) of heaven will wear away (Hebrew, MAQAQ – to rot, dissolve, waste away) and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away as a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree.
John, in the Book of Revelation writes about how the beast nature of the world system will at some point receive a fatal wound. There seems to be in the future a season (we do not know how long), where scripture says that at a certain point it will be said that the beast was (past tense) and is not (Revelation 17:8). During that season, the sky will be as a rolled–up scroll. In other words, while we can presently to some degree read what is going on in the heavens and discern the invisible powers at work, in those coming days, there will be nothing there to read – the powers having been disabled. The Lord will then after a certain period of time allow them to come back but only to be finally destroyed.
So, how will God fight the spiritual powers in the coming confrontation?
For My sword is satiated in heaven, behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.
Since God has directed us to take up His sword as a piece of our spiritual armor/weaponry (Ephesians 6:17), it seems that the Church of Christ will be involved in His judgments against the powers in that day.
Notice also, in the above verses, that to Isaiah the nation of Edom in some measure represented the whole earth (compare Amos 9:12 with Acts 15:17 where James substitutes the words “the rest of mankind” for Amos’ use of the term “Edom”). So, again, it seems that God’s wrath visited on Edom in Isaiah’s day would on a smaller scale demonstrate His future confrontation with the whole earth. And it would be devastating (Isaiah 34:6 - 17).
Massive judgment is coming to the nations, specifically concerning the issue/the controversy of Zion (Isaiah 34:8). How the world has treated God’s people, both those of natural Zion and those of spiritual Zion, informs us on how He will respond to them if they do not repent.
But in those days when Israel turns to the Lord with all her heart, when the spiritual powers have been incapacitated for a season, some amazing things will start happening.
The wilderness and the desert will be glad, and the Arabah will rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it will blossom profusely and rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.
Because Isaiah Chapter 35:1 is so different from the previous statements of judgment and destruction in Chapter 34, scholars decided to put a chapter break in the middle of what Isaiah was saying. Sometimes the locations where chapter breaks occur in scripture have been helpful. And sometimes, they have obscured the obvious.
But God pictures for us a massive springing up of life in places where there had not been much or even any before. And it all will reveal His glory and majesty. Paul informs us in Romans Chapter 11 that if great spiritual wealth came to the nations when national Israel did not receive her Messiah, how much more would be released among the nations when she is received back into her full identity as the natural branches regrafted in to Heaven’s tree. It will be as life from the dead. Or, as Isaiah indicates, as a desert blooming with life.
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
(Isaiah 35:3 ESV)
The writer to the Hebrews quotes the above verse in the context of God disciplining His people (Hebrews 12:12). In bringing forth among His children the spiritual fruit that He has always longed to see on earth, our God must bring to bear among us His disciplines, His judgments as an expression of His great love for us. But they are not necessarily a pleasant experience. And though they seem not to be joyful but sorrowful, afterwards, when we have been trained by them, they yield in us and among us the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
God’s precious gift of righteousness to His people when we repent and believe is but the beginning of the manifest fruit of righteousness that He intends to reveal to the whole earth. And we cannot get there apart from His judgments among us. Indeed, over the last two thousand years, both Israel and the Church have experienced the dealings, the disciplines, the judgments of God as He works to bring His new creation into clarity in the midst of the old creation before the eyes of the whole earth.
But it is easy to lose heart with all that is going on in our personal lives, or in our nation, or in the present international geopolitical tensions and specifically those concerning Israel. But we must take Isaiah’s words to heart. We must strengthen the weakening hands and firm up the feeble knees. Let us encourage one another to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1). In fact, we must:
Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you.”
God is indeed coming with vengeance; great judgments are yet to be revealed from Heaven. But that is not the main point. He is coming to bring salvation to all who will humble themselves before Him – a salvation massively revealed across the whole earth in ways greater than we have had faith for. And Israel’s receiving of her Messiah will precipitate it. As He arises for the specific sake of her salvation, He will at that time bring devastation upon those seeking her destruction – both many wicked people and also the spiritual powers motivating them. Just as His coming to save Israel from Egypt’s enslavement brought great destruction to Egypt, so also, His arising again for Israel’s sake will precipitate great judgments. But mercy will triumph, and multitudes will turn to the Lord.
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah. The scorched land (or “mirage”) will become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water.
Mirages seem to have the goods but without any real substance. Today, there are many who promote philosophies, lifestyles, religions, and political movements as the key for human fulfillment and happiness. But whether they know it or not, they are attempting to replace the only One who can satisfy the longing of the human soul, the only One who can bring humanity to the fulness of God’s original intent when He first created man.
But God will arise in those very places. “O Lord pour out the convicting power of Your Spirit and cause many to see the emptiness of the “mirage” they have been propagating. May some of the greatest voices to proclaim life emerge from among those presently promoting the practice of killing unborn children. May many who presently promote sexual perversion become some of the greatest voices proclaiming the sanctity and holiness of Your vision for marriage.”
Instead of a lifeless desert, the world will experience massive expressions of life springing up. And the manifestation of God’s life among men will not be directionless; it will be as a highway.
A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, nor will any vicious beast go up on it; these will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Donald Rumble – December 2022
Search Comments
This page has been visited 0093 times.
| << | Contents | >> |
10 per page