Isaiah 13: Babylon!

We have now shifted gears and have entered new territory, albeit controversial. Having discussed the first two sections of prophecy in Isaiah, dealing with the southern tribes and the “House of Judah” in chapters 1-6, then the northern tribes and the “House of Israel” in chapters 7-12, we will now continue with the nations in chapters 13-23. In this section, Isaiah begins with a nation high on God’s list of judgments, Babylon. Interestingly, at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy and his writings, Babylon was nothing more than a city-state in the Assyrian Empire and certainly not a force to be reckoned with. Instead, the concern of those in Jerusalem was in the power of Assyria, an empire that would soon take the northern tribes captive. To remind you, under King Sennacherib, the Assyrian troops would encamp all around Jerusalem, but an angel of the Lord would kill 185,000 of them in one night. Don’t forget, God makes kings and kingdoms, and lest they boast, He is just as quick to take them out of office as put them in. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that God can allow an evil man to rule just as easily as He can place a godly man in that role. Sometimes, we can err in thinking that if God placed them in command, He is behind them. God is outside of the domain of time and uses each and every event to fit into His plan. His plan can be the overthrow of a nation. We know that God used both the Assyrians and Babylonians to punish His chosen people, the Israelites. Does that mean He favored the heathen nations? Not hardly, but He did use them for His benefit.

The controversy ahead of us in the discussion of this chapter lies in the meaning of Babylon in the Bible. Babylon began in Genesis 10 with Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. Nimrod constructed a building to reach to the heavens. In his pride, he wanted to be raised to the level of God, the Most High. God destroyed the tower, confused the language of the people and sent them to distant lands. Up until that time, all the people spoke the same language. As an empire, Babylon’s rise to power came many years later at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, son of King Nabopolassar. He was a young general in his father’s army and had a sharp, military mind. Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was sacked in 612 B.C., which led the way for the growth of Babylon as a world power. In 606 B.C, Nebuchadnezzar’s forces conquered the Egyptians, led by Pharaoh-Necho, according to the Greek historian Herodotus. In his dynasty, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege on Jerusalem three times. In 605 B.C, he made King Jehoiakim his subject. In 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar returned to Jerusalem and took King Jehoiakim, and placed his son, Jehoiachin, on the throne.

Nebuchadnezzar also took 3,023 Jews into captivity at that time. Then in 588 B.C., he returned to destroy both Jerusalem and the Temple, and took the rest of the people into exile. Under Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Ancient Babylon was a wonder of the world. It was rectangular, 15 miles on each side, with a canal of the Euphrates River running through it. Its walls were 350 feet high in parts, and 87 feet thick, according to Herodotus. They would hold chariot races on top of the walls, and would race six wide! The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife, to remind her of her homeland. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Hanging Gardens were destroyed in an earthquake just after the first century B.C.

After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus ruled and then was followed by his son, Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. It was under the reign of Belshazzar that Babylon was captured. You can read all about that in Daniel 5. To paraphrase what happened, Belshazzar was entertaining 1,000 guests at a feast, instead of defending his territory. He had his servants bring him the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Jewish Temple, and he and his guests desecrated those instruments of the Lord in their toasts.

5 In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
Daniel 5:5-6 (NKJV)

The handwriting on the wall, according to an interpretation by Daniel, told of the days of Belshazzar’s kingdom being numbered, him being weighed in the balance and found wanting, and that his kingdom had been given to the Medes and Persians. That night, Cyrus conquered Babylon without a battle. This is a very important aspect of our study, so keep this in mind later. Cyrus dammed the waters of the Euphrates and came untouched through the moat. Daniel showed King Cyrus a scroll of Isaiah, and in that scroll, written 150 years earlier, Cyrus was mentioned as an instrument of God. We will study this in Isaiah 44-45, but if you feel like jumping ahead, feel free! Cyrus, obviously amazed by the power of God, returned the Jews from captivity and even financed some of the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem by Nehemiah.

The last subject I would like to mention, before reading Isaiah 13, is that it can easily be applied to other areas of the Bible. Bible scholar Chuck Missler instructs students to read three pairs of chapters, to see the similarities of terms and descriptions, along with some differences. If you are inclined to do that before continuing, those chapters are Isaiah 13 and 14; Jeremiah 50 and 51; and Revelation 17 and 18. So, finally, let’s read Chapter 13:

1 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 "Lift up a banner on the high mountain,
Raise your voice to them;
Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My sanctified ones;
I have also called My mighty ones for My anger--
Those who rejoice in My exaltation."
4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The LORD of hosts musters
The army for battle.
5 They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven--
The LORD and His weapons of indignation,
To destroy the whole land.
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man's heart will melt,
8 And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 "I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
And as a sheep that no man takes up;
Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.
17 "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not regard silver;
And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces,
And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
Their eye will not spare children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride,
Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will never be inhabited,
Nor will it be settled from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,
Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.
21 But wild beasts of the desert will lie there,
And their houses will be full of owls;
Ostriches will dwell there,
And wild goats will caper there.
22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels,
And jackals in their pleasant palaces.
Her time is near to come,
And her days will not be prolonged."
Isaiah 13:1-22 (NKJV)

Let’s begin with the controversy, which will give each of you the opportunity to see what you think, as we continue through the chapter. Babylon is mentioned many times in the Bible. According to the Bible, Babylon is the birthplace of all false religions. The discussion of Babylon begins in Genesis, and still remains prominent in the Book of Revelation. In this chapter, and in others, we will see the prophecy of the “Destruction of Babylon.” Is that the same as the “Fall of Babylon?” Bible scholars I respect very much differ on this in many ways. J. Vernon McGee believed that much of this chapter came to fruition when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. He believed that Babylon would be rebuilt, but at a different location. Dave Hunt, noted author of “A Woman Rides the Beast,” believes that the use of the word Babylon in Revelation is allegorical of Rome. Some believe that Babylon is actually New York City! One of my dearest friends, Rusty Foster, who has taught the Bible for 50 years, agrees with Dave Hunt, based on the following verse written by Peter:

12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. 13 She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 Peter 5:12-14 (NKJV)

Where was Peter when writing this epistle? Many think he was in Rome. Others say he was in Babylon, or they say it was another city named Babylon, in a different location. Regardless, if the word is used as a metaphor of Rome, it could make the Babylon in the Book of Revelation the city of Rome. Hunt makes a strong case for that argument. Yet, many are more prone to the literal interpretation of the Bible. God means what He says and says what He means, even if we can’t see His plan. I think the use of the word Israel in end times prophecies is a great example of this. As mentioned before, with Israel being gone from the world for 1,800 years, many did not see the literal usage of that word in relation to the end times. I believe that is exactly what God is doing here. Most of us believe we are in the end times now. Though the United States has not fought wars in the Middle East until the last 25 years, it once again finds itself involved in a war in Iraq. The main city is Baghdad, but 62 miles to the south lays Babylon. Under the command of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqis began to rebuild the once majestic city. Some of Nebuchadnezzar’s palaces have been rebuilt already. By no means has the city been completed, but look what happened in Germany and Japan after World War II. Americans and American money rebuilt the areas they had bombed. This could happen to Iraq and Babylon just as easily. Read this statement from Wikipedia on Babylon:

“Interestingly enough, an article published in April 2006 states that UN officials and Iraqi leaders have big plans for restoring Babylon, making it a gem of a new Iraq as a cultural center complete with shopping malls, hotels, and maybe even a theme park. ’One day millions of people will visit Babylon.’"

I don’t know, but a future generation will know for sure. Stay tuned for details! Let’s start with verses 1-4:

1 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
2 "Lift up a banner on the high mountain,
Raise your voice to them;
Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded My sanctified ones;
I have also called My mighty ones for My anger--
Those who rejoice in My exaltation."
4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The LORD of hosts musters
The army for battle.

These are not popular prophecies for Isaiah, preaching doom and gloom to the Israelis and the nations surrounding them. It could have been a burden on his shoulder, apart from the fact that he was sent by the Lord, who made his yoke easy and his burden light. Even if they did not believe what he had to say, there would have been a hesitancy of wondering what was about to happen. The Lord warned them all many times. Raising banners on a high mountain seems to point to the many kingdoms gathering together. While battles are usually fought in the valleys, the view from the mountaintops can aid in planning the strategy, and offers a great view of the action. God has called His sanctified ones and His mighty ones for His anger. Though this may apply to the “Fall of Babylon,” I know it applies to the Great Tribulation. To be sanctified is to be set apart, and each of us as a Christian is set apart by God, for His usage, at His time! Do you rejoice in His exaltation? I sure do! That makes us His mighty ones and His sanctified ones. At the Battle of Armageddon, we will be clothed in white alongside our general, Jesus. This will be a noisy time. Think of the Battle of Jericho, as the troops surrounded the city and made noise all the way around. It says in verse four that the kingdoms of nations are gathered together. I guess that could mean the Medes and Persians, but the language usage makes me think it is a larger group of nations. This seems like the battle at the end of the tribulation to me. The Lord prepares the army for battle. Let’s continue with verses 5-8:

5 They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven--
The LORD and His weapons of indignation,
To destroy the whole land.
6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man's heart will melt,
8 And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.

Once again, this doesn’t seem to apply to the Medo-Persian Empire. They were not from a far country, but the one next door. God’s army comes from heaven, and He will destroy the whole land. Verse 6 gives us a reference that should demonstrate that this is yet to occur. The phrase we have seen many times already in our study, and is used many other times in the Bible, refers to a specific time period— “the day of the Lord is at hand!” This is when God returns in wrath and judgment on a sinful world. Having stood on the hill in Megiddo looking over the plains, it is chilling to picture blood as deep as a horse’s bridle told about in the Bible. Yet this seems to be the time frame discussed here. The destruction will come from the Almighty. If you have ever seen “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” it seems that these verses apply to what was depicted there. Every hand will be limp and their hearts will melt. If you can’t raise your hand, you can defend yourself or attack others. A melted heart softens like butter, though it was hard and cold. But it is too late! They will be afraid. When faced with omnipotent God, and seeing themselves on the wrong side, there is no other emotion than fear that can occur. “Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them.” Can you imagine the sorrow of living your life without belief in God? When faced with the conclusive proof that He exists and He is about to punish you, the sorrow will be immense. There is no turning back in their lives, as they have taken the mark of the beast. If you are reading this in pre-tribulation times, you can remedy that right now. God will forgive all of your sins now. Once a person has taken the mark of the beast, that remedy will be gone forever! In reference to that mark, I have wondered if that is part of what God was doing with the Jews in the Holocaust. The Jews in the camps were tattooed with numbers. It was demoralizing for those who died, but a daily memory for the survivors, who retained the mark for the rest of their lives. After that, there is no way they will allow anyone to put a number on them! This might save many from a great mistake, an irreversible one. “They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth.” Being a man, I don’t know what that pain is like, but as many have said before, if men had to give birth, the most they would ever have would be one child. Birth pains are known for two characteristics--they increase in intensity and frequency as the event approaches. “They will be amazed at one another and their faces will be like flames.” In battle, there are always certain warriors who emerge with courage. They have no fear and those who are quaking in their boots turn to the courageous for leadership. In this battle, those leaders will be just as afraid as the followers as no one can emerge to deliver them from a wrathful God. I can picture these faces melting, as in “Raiders.” Now, verses 9-12:

9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
11 "I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,
A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

The prophecy continues in the discussion of the Day of the Lord. This day will “lay the land desolate.” While Babylon is desolate today, it did not become desolate on the day when Cyrus marched in without a battle and took the city. In fact, Cyrus made Babylon his capital. Years later, Alexander the Great took Babylon and he also made it his capital. After the days of Alexander, when his four generals divided the territories Alexander had conquered, trade routes changed and Babylon slowly became less important. That doesn’t sound like the immediate destruction described here. God will destroy the sinners from it. Then comes an amazing description of the darkness in Babylon that certainly is a future event. Read the following verses and see the similarities:

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

That sure sounds like the same event depicted by Isaiah. Here’s another, written by John:

12 Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. 13 And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"
Revelation 8:12-13 (NKJV)

Can you imagine the panic brought forth by utter darkness? As we know, light exposes evil and without light, there is terror. The people in Alaska get a little nutty in the times of the year with no sun. This is literal and allegorical, as Jesus is the Light of the world. Without Him, there is no light, but this refers to literal darkness, just as much. The verses say that God is going to punish the world for its evil. It should be apparent that this is not a prophecy limited to Babylon at the hands of the Medes and Persians. The entire world is being punished. This is the Great Tribulation! Pride, arrogance and haughtiness are once again described as the reason for destruction. We will see the foundation of that sin in our next chapter! Let’s continue with verses 13-16:

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle,
And as a sheep that no man takes up;
Every man will turn to his own people,
And everyone will flee to his own land.
15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through,
And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.
16 Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
Their houses will be plundered
And their wives ravished.

I remember reading that after the 9.3 Indonesian earthquake that the earth was shifted a few inches off its axis. Scientists have spent hours discussing the ramifications of a nuclear event, and the effect that would have on the entire world. God created this world in perfection. If we were spinning faster, we would hurtle into space. His plan was a perfect one and there in no possibility that a big bang or evolution created the balance of forces to enable life here. The event discussed here, and in other places in the Bible, could be direct fire from heaven. Yet, as we have already seen, God can use man for His purposes. This also could be a nuclear event caused by man. God knows the cause just as easily as He knows the effect. One of the effects is that the earth will move out of her place. Does that change the orbit of the planet? The description of the “sheep that no man takes up” is interesting as well. If we are the sheep taken up in the rapture, is this referring to the sheep, who have turned to God in this time? The following language is almost identical in Jeremiah 50 and 51: every man “will flee to his own land.” To me, when faced with sure death and destruction, no longer able to put together a plan of attack to change the outcome, we just want to be with our loved ones. That is what I see here. Every single person captured will die. There are no prisoners of war. This does not just affect the soldiers, or the men, as their wives and children will be killed as well. This reminds me of the request of God to the Jews when taking over the Promised Land. God wanted all the people out of the land, so that the Jews would not fall prey to the false idols of the people. The Jews did not listen, married some of the foreigners and followed the gods of the women. The “take no prisoners” approach is a definitive end! Let’s discuss verses 17-20:

17 "Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them,
Who will not regard silver;
And as for gold, they will not delight in it.
18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces,
And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb;
Their eye will not spare children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,
The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride,
Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It will never be inhabited,
Nor will it be settled from generation to generation;
Nor will the Arabian pitch tents there,
Nor will the shepherds make their sheepfolds there.

This mention of the Medes leads many Bible scholars to apply this to the end of the Babylonian Empire. Yet it is interesting to see it from another perspective. Who are the Medes today? They are the Kurds, the tribe that Saddam Hussein attempted to destroy. The international political community was sickened by the mass murder of thousands of Kurds, mostly civilians. The anti-Kurd campaign by the Iraqi government was called “Arfal,” meaning “spoils of war.” Two thousand villages were leveled and as many as 100,000 Kurds were killed in the campaign. Can you see why the Medes will not need the promise of money to defeat Babylon? As they say, revenge is a dish best served cold. While the weapons of choice here are “bows,” this could be an Old Testament description that includes our modern-day weaponry. Let’s see a similar verse in Jeremiah:

9 For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon
An assembly of great nations from the north country,
And they shall array themselves against her;
From there she shall be captured.
Their arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior;
None shall return in vain.
Jeremiah 50:9 (NKJV)

This is rather interesting. The arrows “shall be like those of an expert warrior,” none will miss! That sure sounds to me like smart missiles of today, where we can dial in the coordinates of where we want them to hit. Once again, we have an Old Testament man and his description of future times. This vision must have stunned Isaiah! None will be spared, whether it is young children, pregnant women or little babies. The following phrase in the passage is one that seems to point to the actual Babylon, rather than Rome, New York City or a host of other worldwide, prominent sites. Babylon is described as a glorious kingdom and “the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride.” It doesn’t matter how beautiful it was, pride is not good in the eyes of the Lord. We see a phrase here that emphasizes the totality of destruction. Babylon will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. Has that happened yet? No! We have no idea where Sodom and Gomorrah were as there are no remains. We know exactly where Babylon stood, and some of the buildings are still there. Yes, there are many cities in the world that have been destroyed and rebuilt, and while Babylon has not become a metropolis, it is certainly in the state of being rebuilt. While there might not be a large population there, the city has been partially inhabited for many years. This does not seem to apply to ancient Babylon, but to future Babylon. Let’s finish the chapter:

21 But wild beasts of the desert will lie there,
And their houses will be full of owls;
Ostriches will dwell there,
And wild goats will caper there.
22 The hyenas will howl in their citadels,
And jackals in their pleasant palaces.
Her time is near to come,
And her days will not be prolonged."

This is also language consistent with the passages in Jeremiah. Once again, let’s look at that:

"Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals,
And the ostriches shall dwell in it.
It shall be inhabited no more forever,
Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah
And their neighbors," says the LORD,
"So no one shall reside there,
Nor son of man dwell in it.
Jeremiah 50:39-40 (NKJV)

This looks pretty similar to me. “Her days will not be prolonged” shows that this will be the end for Babylon. Revelation describes it as taking an hour. This will be immediate destruction. To wrap this up, let me reiterate that I don’t know exactly what is going to happen. Nor do I know how much of this applies to ancient Babylon as opposed to current or future Babylon. I do know that Christians alive when the events happen will know exactly what it is in reference to. This is my point of view, and there are respected scholars who agree strongly and disagree just as strongly. This is not a difference of doctrine, or how we follow the Lord. Just remember, as a Christian, try to look for similarities with fellow believers rather than differences. It will all seem pretty meaningless when we are worshipping together at the feet of our Lord. If you have an opinion on this subject, measure it against the Word. If the Lord wants you to know, He will reveal it to you in His Word! If He doesn’t, it wasn’t important for you to know!

Isaiah 12: A Hymn of Praise

At the tail end of the prophecy concerning the House of Israel is this gorgeous song, a psalm. The Book of Isaiah began with a prophecy concerning the House of Judah, the southern tribes of the split kingdom. Following that prophecy came one concerning the northern tribes. This is the last chapter of that prophecy, before we go on to prophecies concerning the other nations. Though Chapter 12 only has 6 verses, it demonstrates much of the mindset of those singing to the Lord in that day. We will be there, as well, though in glorified bodies. Without further ado, let’s read the chapter in its entirety:

1 And in that day you will say:
"O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
2 Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
'For Yah, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.' "
3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say:
"Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
5 Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!"
Isaiah 12:1-6 (NKJV)

Let’s begin with a discussion of the first verse:

1 And in that day you will say:
"O LORD, I will praise You;
Though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.

“In that day” refers to the Millennium, the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the throne of David. People will be praising the Lord, and they will have more than ample reason to do so. Remember what will lead up to this time…the tribulation. I have posted this verse already in this book, but we need a reminder now:

"And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
Matthew 24:22 (NKJV)

A study of Revelation reveals a time like we have never seen before. After the Holocaust, the Jews were saying, “never again,” but sadly, the Great Tribulation makes the Holocaust look like a trip to Disneyland. As we have already seen in this study, two-thirds of the Jews in the Great Tribulation will die, but that surviving remnant of one-third will be in the crowd singing this psalm to the Lord. As I have mentioned before, and most of you know already, there are real blessings in tribulation. It is a sad statement of the human condition of sin nature, yet the true testament is that we tend to find the Lord when we have reached the ends of ourselves. I can certainly testify to that fact in my life, as I found Him in my brokenness. The Jews will have no where to look but up with the supernatural attack from Satan they will be subject to. Having felt the Lord’s wrath, they will know that anger has been turned away when He comforts them. The punishment of the Jews began with their sins of idolatry, as the Lord sent them into captivity. That sin worsened when they failed to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah. God sent them to the four corners of the earth. Don’t forget God’s remedy for sin…it must be covered by the spilling of blood. The Old Testament sacrificial system accomplished that task, but the temple has not been around since A.D. 70. Those who have not asked Jesus to cover their sins will have to cover those sins with their own blood, and they will die in the process. This verse points to the cross! God could not have turned away His anger without the cross, for it was there that Jesus received the punishment these Jews should have received; He received the punishment I should have received; He received the punishment you should have received. A sinless God cannot just ignore sin. Each one of us who have come to Him has an inkling of what the Jews are feeling here. When the burden of my sin was removed from my shoulders, I walked with a joy I had never experienced before. That joy remains today. I have always pointed out the story Jesus tells Peter in reference to my own life:

40 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it." 41 "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."
Luke 7:40-43 (NKJV)

Many of us feel that we are the chief sinners, as I do. I know what Jesus had to forgive in my life. I know what burden He had to bear on the cross for me. I am still so ashamed of the sins that I committed, though I am filled with joy for the burden that is gone from me. I know how the Jews will feel on this day! Having ignored the fact for centuries that Jesus came to save them, they finally reach a breaking point and turn to Him. He is their comfort, and leads them through the valley of the shadow of death. In the Great Tribulation, death is all around them, but they are sealed by the protection of the Holy Spirit. His rod and His staff shall comfort them. If you are not living that joy now, remember the day you set all of your sins at the foot of the cross for Him to bear, the day you asked Him to be Lord of your life. That joy is always there for each of us, if we only remember! Now, verse two:

2 Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
'For Yah, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.' "

God did not give us salvation. He is salvation. This reminds me of a favorite verse:

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)

Jesus didn’t just bear our sins. He became sin for us, and received the punishment for all of that sin. Though we should continue to ask for forgiveness of our sin, He forgave us for all of the sins we would ever commit the moment we came to Him. He already has carried the burden! Sometimes, I remind myself that if I can walk away from sin it will ease the burden He already carried. It’s difficult to get your mind around that one, but it is true. He became sin for us and He is salvation. After enduring the Great Tribulation and seeing the Lord guide them through history’s most difficult hour, there is nothing to fear. At this time, Jesus will be ruling on the throne of David at Mt. Zion. The antichrist and the false prophet will be in the lake of fire and brimstone. Satan will no longer have dominion over the earth and will be chained. The curse of sin will have been removed from the earth and all of creation will rejoice in the splendor of our King. YAHWEH, or Jehovah, Jesus, the Lord of my life, will be my strength and my song. He is the joy in our hearts. He is the strength that empowers us through every battle! Okay, verse three:

3 Therefore with joy you will draw water
From the wells of salvation.

This verse is a deep one! The wells of salvation are as deep as deep can be. His love is limitless, as He has enough for each of us to be loved completely. We are not speaking of just any water, but the Living Water discussed with the Samaritan woman at the well. Let’s look at that phrase in the Old and New Testaments:

13 "For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns--broken cisterns that can hold no water
Jeremiah 2:13 (NKJV)

And:

10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." 11 The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
John 4:10-14 (NKJV)

The wells of salvation speak of an abundance that we cannot imagine. Living Water gives us abundant life and we will never thirst again. We don’t have to wait until the Millennium to experience this abundant life. We are blessed to be in the Church Age, as we do not have to endure the hardship of the Great Tribulation. To me, it is a blessing that comes from our Lord’s words to Thomas, “Blessed are those who believe without seeing.” We did not walk with Jesus on this earth, but we still believe. It is nothing to brag about for even that faith is a gift that He has given us. Yet, another gift is that invitation as the Gentile brides of Christ to be at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (NKJV)

Even now, as we struggle on this earth, we are seated in the heavenlies with Him. That is pure joy! Here is verse four:

4 And in that day you will say:
"Praise the LORD, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.

I love the phrase here that says, “Declare His deeds among the peoples.” I think we will spend many years telling each other of the wondrous things that He did in our lives. God’s great deeds were not just in creation, though He created a beautiful world. We have no idea how beautiful it was, as all we have seen is the earth under the curse. During this time, we will see its true magnificence. Yet the Lord has redeemed each one of us through magnificent deeds. I look forward to trading stories with Saul of Tarsus, as I know what it feels like to have the Hound of Heaven place a man in a spot where he must choose the Lord. I am so thankful for all of His deeds in my life. His name is exalted, yet as one teacher pointed out, His Word is exalted even higher. That is because the Word became flesh and dwelled among us, was tabernacled among us. The only way God could demonstrate His love for us was to die, to lay down His life for each of us!

13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. 14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
John 15:13-14 (NKJV)

Everyone on the earth at this time will be praising the Lord! Have you ever heard a chorus, with voices melding together beautifully? Can you imagine a chorus with millions and millions of glorified voices singing praises to the Lord? I am really looking forward to this! Here is verse five:

5 Sing to the LORD,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.

It is so hard to imagine a world like this! We don’t know unity. Even as Christians, we find ourselves in situations where we get our feelings hurt by other Christians. At this time in history, we will all have a different perspective. All we will see is our Savior reigning on the throne, and filled with our love, thankfulness and joy, we will sing to Him. God created the world, looked back and said that it was good. Here, he says that it is excellent, and He certainly knows the meaning of that word. We have no idea right now how excellent it will be! Though detractors will come again, in the form of offspring of the people who enter the Millennium, Jesus will be ruling with a rod of iron, the ability to see each person’s motive and will have a host of kings and priests ruling with Him. That’s us! I don’t know how expansive the world will be, but as I have discussed with others, my guess is that the land may be all together again (as it appears it once fit that way if you look at a globe). I think we will be speaking one language, as they were in the days before the Tower of Babel. I hope that language is Hebrew, as I think it is beautiful! Okay, let’s finish this chapter:

6 Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!"

The Lord will be ruling on the earth! Have you ever felt like you were the only one with a belief in the Lord? Outside of the Bible belt, it is easy to feel that way. Yet politically speaking, especially in these days of political correctness, we seldom can find a candidate willing to stand up for God and God’s ways. Politics will be much easier in the Millennium. We voted for Jesus when we asked Him to be our Savior, and He will be elected as the ruler of this world by a unanimous vote, without the need for an election! My heart goes out to the Jews, who have lived in Israel all of these years without a temple. If you go to Jerusalem, you see them at the Wailing Wall. There will be no more wailing, but cries and shouts of joy, as their Messiah will be ruling from their midst…on Mt. Zion, with the Millennial Temple right there. I am so glad that God blessed me with the opportunity to see that city before this time, as it will be such a blessing to see the change! Though God is everywhere, that piece of land is very important to Him. When you arrive there, even now, it feels like a part of you has gone home. That’s because the One who lives inside of you is from there! Don’t wait until then to feel this joy. All of your sins have been forgiven! You have eternal life with Jesus and there is nothing that can ever harm you. If you don’t know Him as your Savior, you can receive that joy right now!
This concludes not only the chapter, but the section in Isaiah concerning the northern tribes. As we continue in Chapter 13, and for the remainder of this book, we will be dealing with Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the nations.

Isaiah 11: A Messianic Prophecy!

As Isaiah’s prophecy to King Ahaz continues, concerning the northern tribes, we get to a pivotal place in Isaiah 11 with a chapter that is filled with strong, Messianic references. One of the challenges of interpretation is to figure out which of these apply to our Lord’s first coming, which apply to His second coming and which apply to both. There are many blessings in this chapter! Let’s start by reading the chapter:

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. 6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. 10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious." 11 It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. 13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them. 15 The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 11:1-16 (NKJV)

Because the chapter is relatively short, I am going to discuss each verse by itself. So let’s begin with the first verse:

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

What we see here is a family tree. A Rod shall come forth, and that Rod will come out of the stem of Jesse. We know that in the Millennium, Jesus will rule this planet with a rod of iron. When reading the Old Testament, we frequently skip over the lists of who begat who, but those lists have their own blessings, as they point to the birth of our Lord, Jesus. Here’s one of those blessings from the genealogy. In Matthew, we see the genealogy of Christ through Solomon, the by-product of the illicit relationship of David and Bathsheba. That led to Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, though we know the Holy Spirit was responsible for impregnating Mary. Matthew, being Jewish, was concerned with the legal bloodline of our Savior. Luke took another line, as being a physician, he was more interested in the real bloodline. Instead of going through Solomon, Luke takes the line of Jesus through another of David’s sons, Nathan. This bloodline goes through Heli, the father of Mary. So whichever way you want to look at it, whether from Mary’s family or Joseph’s, Jesus was in the Davidic line! This is another of those amazing ways the Bible fits together perfectly. Mary would have no rights of inheritance to pass forward, based on the Law in Deuteronomy 21:16. Yet in Numbers 27, the daughters of Zelophehad approached Moses, who then in turn approached God, on a change concerning the rights of inheritance to a family having no sons. God heard their cries and the Law changed to include daughters in a family of no sons. As Mary had no brothers, she would not be mentioned in the bloodline without that change! Everything points to Jesus!

Jesse was the father of David. He was a poor shepherd, and God promoted his son, David, to be the King of Israel. David was the second king, after Saul, and the first godly king. In fact, as you remember, King David was the king all the rest were compared to, and his heart was for the Lord. Don’t confuse this with David being perfect or infallible, as he was a murderer and an adulterer, concerning the issue with Uriah the Hittite, one of the soldiers in David’s army. To remind you, David lusted after Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and then slept with her. When she became pregnant, David had Uriah killed in battle to hide his sin. It is also likely that David was not the best of fathers, judging from his sons and their behavior. All of this is comforting, to say the least, as it reminds each of us that God continues to love us through our failures, if we ask for forgiveness and have hearts for Him. Though David began a royal line in his family, by the time of the birth of Jesus, the Davidic line had returned to a line of peasants. That might have something to do with the usage of Jesse in this passage, rather than David. The Branch that will grow out of the roots of David is Jesus. The word “Branch” means “live sprout.” The branch falls dead from the tree and sprouts back to life, and brings others to life!

2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD

The second verse contains an additional nugget for us, as I have mentioned before. In Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5 and 5:6 there are references to the seven Spirits of God. In the Bible, as we have discussed, seven is the number of completeness, and we know that God is complete! In order to understand Revelation, you have to have a mastery of the Old Testament, as it is loaded with references. Here is one of those! In Isaiah 11:1, we see the sevenfold aspect of the Holy Spirit! He is:

1. The Spirit of the Lord

2. The Spirit of wisdom

3. The Spirit of

understanding

4. The Spirit of counsel

5. The Spirit of might

6. The Spirit of knowledge

7. The Spirit of the

fear of the Lord.


We know that when Jesus lived as a man, He walked in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit, and when He comes back to rule on the throne of David, He will rule in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit, so the Spirit of the Lord will be upon Him. He will rule with wisdom, and that wisdom will be perfect. Remember, one of the many things Jesus cannot do is He cannot learn. In regards to wisdom, we are null and void in comparison. Check out this verse:

30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- 31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD. '
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (NKJV)

Jesus is also filled with the Spirit of understanding, which is another word for spiritual discernment. As gifts of the Lord go, this is a biggie! We read that in the latter days, many will be fooled by the false prophets. If you measure everything you hear against what you read in the Bible, you will know the truth, and that truth will set you free! Jesus cannot be fooled, even by the treachery of Satan, and as long as we keep our eyes on Him, Satan won’t fool us, either! Think of how Satan tried to fool Jesus, by quoting parts of the Word, out of context. Jesus knew the Word…in fact, Jesus is the Word! We also see the Spirit of Counsel. Only a few chapters back in Isaiah, we saw one of the titles of Jesus, Counselor. He counsels, and doesn’t need counsel from anyone! Then we have the Spirit of might, which is power. We are baptized into His resurrection and the power thereof:

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death
Philippians 3:9-10 (NKJV)

Here’s another interesting piece of information. When Solomon built the temple, he added a porch. There were two pillars made of brass. Brass is always emblematic of judgment. Those pillars stood alone…they didn’t hold up anything. We can read about that in 2 Chronicles:

17 Then he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right hand Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.
2 Chronicles. 3:17 (NKJV)

Why do I mention this here? Because Jachin is the Hebrew word for counsel and Boaz is the Hebrew word for might! The last two attributes of the Spirit are knowledge and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. Both of these come from staying well-grounded in the Bible. Each story gives us more knowledge of God. Remember, He told us that His ways are not our ways. One of the best ways we have of seeing His ways is by reading about God and His actions! When we see all that He did, all that He said, and all of the promises He has made, these give us a reverence for Him, a true fear of the Lord. These are all the attributes that a “Spirit-filled Christian” should have. We should be bubbling over every moment with what the Lord has done in each of our lives. Sadly, we let the cares of the world get in the way and take that focus away, at times. Don’t lose sight of this when you pray for His Spirit to fill you. These are the characteristics others should see in each of us! Onto verse three:

3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

Though Jesus is the Lord, He has a fear of the Father and the Holy Spirit. It delights Him to walk in that path. We should feel the same way. He freed us from sin, and the bondage that we were in. Why is it that we still can gravitate back to those ways? After He had given us the free gift of salvation, we should be able to look back with perfect hindsight and see the destructive path our sinful lives took. Satan was able to fool us as non-Christians, as he lured us in with the pleasure of sin. As I have mentioned before, sin is a cancer that eats away at every fiber of our being. I love the term remission of sin, for it reminds me of cancer being in remission…the cancer is no longer eating me up! It should be a joy for us to walk away from that sin and follow Him. Don’t forget what Jesus said:

15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 14:15 (NKJV)

Jesus will not have to judge by His eyes or ears as He can do something no other judge is able to do. He can see inside of the heart of each of us! How easy it will be for Him to settle a dispute as He can see not only the actions, but the motives. My pastor once told me that there are always three points of view: ours, their’s and God’s! With our hearts being deceitful and desperately wicked, as Jeremiah writes, we never have a pure motive. Yet God’s motives are always pure! Now, verse four:

4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

By looking at our justice system today, we can see that the poor are not represented the same as the wealthy. I am sure they never have been. A wealthy man can hire a smarter, more-experienced attorney, and all a poor man can hire is a free, public defender. Most of the decisions in those cases will go to the hired gun. But Jesus is my Counselor, my Defender, and He is free. Well, at least I don’t have to pay! Don’t ever forget that the gift He gives might be free to us, but it did not come cheaply. He paid for it with His life! There will finally be equity for the meek. Meek actually means “quiet strength.” When Jesus looked at the men selling wares in His Father’s house, He looked with eyes of meekness. There was no question in anyone’s mind that He meant business. Most people think of gentleness when discussing this word, but it is gentleness with strength! The meek shall inherit the earth, and I think that refers to each of us who have come to know Him as Lord. This verse goes on to say that Jesus will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth! The “rod of His mouth” is sharper than a two-edged sword and it is the Word of God. With the breath of His lips, He will slay the wicked, just as the garrison fell back in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said, “I AM!” He breathed the world into existence and can breathe the life out of the wicked, just as easily! Let’s go to verse five:

5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.

A quick look to Ephesians 6 will remind us which part of the full armor of God is being discussed here:

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Ephesians 6:14 (NKJV)

Truth, righteousness and faithfulness will be apparent in every action and every decision that Jesus makes. Even little white lies are lies! We know how faithful He is as we can see every promise He has ever made come true. The Millennial prophecy continues in verses 6-8:

6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.

Some people have heard Jesus described as the “Lion and the Lamb.” Many people confuse this area of the Bible in Isaiah with that verse. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Each tribe had an ensign, a rallying sign, and Judah’s was a lion. Yet, He also is the Passover Lamb, who shed His blood for us. We can see a reference to both in Revelation:

5 But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." 6 And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
8 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
Revelation 5:5-8 (NKJV)

These verses in Isaiah are depicting something else entirely. They are showing us in simple terms how different it will be to live in the Millennium! All of creation changed when Adam sinned and this is what it will be like when the curse of sin has been removed! The animals will become vegetarians. I don’t know if we will become vegetarians, or not. I am also guessing that the animals will talk. You might think that is an outrageous statement, but in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man, when the serpent had the discussion with Eve, she didn’t fall over with shock. It seems that it must have been commonplace to have a discussion with an animal! If we are not vegetarians, we will probably have to ask the animal if he minds if we eat him! I am basing my opinion on the Garden of Eden, but I am guessing we will be vegetarians. Adam and Eve did not know death until God killed a lamb to make skins to clothe them. Based on that, I don’t think Adam and Eve were eating meat. With the curse removed, creation will return to the way it once was, or will at least be similar to those ways. The snake had legs in the Garden of Eden. I wonder if that will happen again? I don’t think I would like them any better with legs! It also says, “a little child shall lead them.” That reminds me of one of the most important attributes of that little child…big faith. Faith can carry each of us a long way, but even that is a gift of God. Okay, verse nine:

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

We have already discussed in Isaiah that war will be gone in the rule of Jesus. We live in the present age when so few believe in God, fewer follow His ways and evil seems to be rampant in the place that Satan has dominion over. It is so hard to visualize this earth filled with believers! That is exactly what will take place at the beginning of the Millennium. We, as believers removed in the rapture, will stand before God in the Bema Seat judgment, where every bit of phoniness will be removed. Only our good acts, desires and attributes will remain. At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will slay the wicked and they will remain “asleep” for 1,000 years, until the Great White Throne judgment. Those who came to know the Lord in the tribulation and lived through it will remain alive as humans and will repopulate the earth. As I have mentioned earlier in this Isaiah study, the children of those humans will still have to make a commitment to the Lord, as each of their descendants will. Yet, at the beginning, every person on earth, whether in an earthly body or a glorified one, will love the Lord! How exciting that will be! That is what it will be like for the earth to be full of the knowledge of the Lord!

10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."

I remember seeing a plaque with this verse on it just outside of the Empty Tomb in Jerusalem! I love this verse. Jesus is the Root of Jesse, as He came from the line of David. In Isaiah 53, He is described as a “Root out of dry ground.” This verse even points to the Israeli flag today! What is right in the middle of that flag? A star of David, called the “Mogan David.” The sign of David shall stand as a banner to the people. This also refers directly to one of the seven redemptive names of God used in the Old Testament. Jehovah-Nissi means "The Lord Our Banner." You can find it in Exodus 17:15.

And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-IS-MY-BANNER; 16 for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."
Exodus 17:15-16 (NKJV)

This verse in Isaiah might have confused the Jews, who saw the Messiah coming as a mighty warrior, and another King in the Davidic line. After the Babylonian captivity, there were no more kings in Israel, and there will not be another one until Jesus rules on the throne of David. Yet, the Jews thought He would rule when He came the first time. Yet in other parts of this verse, it does seem to apply to His first coming. The Gentiles will seek Him. Though He came to save the Jews, His chosen people, the Gentiles followed Him. We are still following Him today, as that prophecy continues to have meaning. When it says, “His resting place shall be glorious,” I think it has many levels of meaning. As it says in Isaiah 53,

And they made His grave with the wicked--But with the rich at His death,
Isaiah 53:9 (NKJV)

His “resting place” was a rich man’s grave in Jerusalem. But I also think that heaven is His “resting place,” as well. And the time of His rest is between His first coming and His second coming. Lastly, the verse can easily apply to the Millennium, too, as this earth will once again be glorious! We have never seen it in glorious form! Now we come to a verse that applies to today:

11 It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.

Every teacher of the Word has certain sections or attributes of the Bible that excite them. I love prophecy. Being that God willed me to be alive today, this is one of my special sections, for I can see the prophecy being fulfilled right in front of my eyes. Eight centuries, or so, before the life of Jesus, God gave this to Isaiah, and here we are that many years later seeing the fulfillment of it! It shouldn’t surprise any of us. Look at this verse:

7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7 (NKJV)

One of the keys to this verse is the phrase “the second time.” God will set His hand to recover the remnant the second time. When was the first time? That’s easy! It was when He brought the Jews back from their 70-year captivity in Babylon. Babylon is also known as the Land of Shinar in the Bible. We can see in two different ways that this verse applies to a different gathering of the Jews. First, the Holy Spirit overtly tells us that it is “the second time,” yet the additional clue is in that initial gathering of the remnant, the Jews were not spread out around the entire world. Cush is modern day Ethiopia. One of the biggest problems in the last 10 years in Israel has been the absorption of Russian Jews and Ethiopian Jews into the land. The “islands of the sea” is a Hebrew colloquialism for distant lands. In 1948, the Jews returned to a land they had vacated for more than 1,800 years! So many “experts” of Bible prophecy had assigned every aspect of prophecy concerning Israel to mean “the Church,” as Israel had not existed for so many years. Some, amazingly, still do that! It is called “replacement theology,” and is straight from the pit of hell. The Jews swarmed back into the land in 1948, and that continues to this day. In 1967, they took Jerusalem, their Holy City, once again, too. This is one of two parts of this gathering. The first will be in unbelief. As you can see, though God has put them back in their land, they still are not following Jesus. Most are agnostic and are not looking to God, the Father, either. One man described an agnostic Jew as someone who knows exactly how to worship the God he doesn’t believe in. Even their leaders have been humanists, who put the emphasis on mankind (with the exception of Menachem Begin, their sixth prime minister). We also know that there is a future gathering in belief, when the Jews will call upon Jesus. Why is God doing this? Have they called out to Him for forgiveness? Not as a nation, but they will. But His reason is to show His grace and that He always comes through on His promises! Read these verses:

16 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 17 "Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. 18 "Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. 19 "So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. 20 "When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name--when they said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.' 21 "But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 "And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, ' says the Lord GOD, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 "I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 "And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 "Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 "Not for your sake do I do this," says the Lord GOD, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!"
Ezekiel 36:16-32 (NKJV)

That shows the heart of God and He is not willing to do anything for the Jews that He has not done for each of us! What a blessing. This continues in verse 12:

12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.

This verse demonstrates that the prophecy does not refer to the House of Israel or the House of Judah, but all of the nation. He will assemble all of the dispersed and all of the outcasts. For those concerned with the 10 lost tribes, there is nothing lost here. Once again, we see the word “banner.” Jehovah-Nissi! Now, verse 13:

13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim.

There was a huge split between the northern tribes and the southern tribes. We see here that they will be one nation again. God’s plan was for Himself to rule over the Jews. The Jews wanted a man, to be like the other nations. Now, God will be ruling, as His original plan! With His permissive will in the past, this will be His perfect will! Ephraim, the largest tribe in the north, will no longer envy Judah, the largest tribe in the south. All of the enemies of Judah will be cut off. We know this is still a future event, as all the nations of the Islamic world hate Israel. Listen to the comments of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the sixth and current president of Iran. He wants to wipe them off of the earth. We know God will not allow that! Let’s continue with verse 14:

14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them.

One of the areas the Israelis still do battle with is the Gaza Strip, on the west coast of the country. It is filled with Arabs (Philistines). Any doubt how that conflict is going to work out? When the victory has been predicted almost three thousand years before we could see a battle, it makes it easier, doesn’t it? The people of the east will be Syria (Israel’s greatest enemy,) Iran, Iraq, and the rest of the Arabic nations. When we get to Isaiah 17, you will see part of this in greater detail. The geographic name “Ammon” sure is similar to the largest city in Jordan, “Amman.” I am sure it applies! In the Millennium, Israel will be the political center of the world. How could that not be the case with Jesus ruling on the throne of David there?! Okay, verse 15:

15 The LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod.

This is a prophecy that we see elsewhere in the Bible, in Revelation. The river in discussion is the Euphrates. This is the “tongue” that comes from the Mediterranean. In this Fertile Crescent was the birthplace of civilization, and it will also see the last battle. Let’s look at Revelation:

12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame." 16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Revelation 16:12-16 (NKJV)

Remember, God is the same yesterday, today and forever! He dried the Red Sea for the Jews to pass through. He dried the Jordan River for them to do the same. This time, He dries the Euphrates with a breath, His mighty wind, for the forces to pass on their way to Har-Megiddo, Armageddon. In Hebrew, “Har” means “mount.” Mt. Megiddo overlooks the plain where the final battle will take place. Now, the last verse in this chapter:

16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.

The remnant will have something better than a pathway back to its land. Highway, as I mentioned before, refers to a clean path. You can take the high road and be on high moral ground. The remnant, by this time, will have called for the return of its Messiah, and it will return to the land of Israel in the same manner the Jews came from Egypt, with God leading the way! Isn’t this an amazing chapter? We can see things that have happened already, things that are happening now and things that will be happening very soon. It puts us in a position of knowing how close our Savior is right now! We should each take that as a warning to live in a manner worthy of Him. It also reminds us to tell people about our Lord and His amazing love!

Isaiah 10: The Assyrian

Let’s begin our study of Isaiah 10 by reading the chapter:

1 "Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain." For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings? 9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?' " 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks." 13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep." 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! 16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.

20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land. 24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 "For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction." 26 And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. 28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish--O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.
Isaiah 10:1-34 (NKJV)

Before we begin studying Isaiah 10, I found it necessary to list 20 different places listed in this chapter. Most of the places I had never heard of before. When you are reading the verses above or the commentary below, feel free to remind yourself of the specifics of each location:

Calno: (or Calneh, meaning Fort) one of the four cities founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:10). It is the modern Niffer, a lofty mound of earth and rubbish situated in the marshes on the east bank of the Euphrates, but 30 miles distant from its present course, and about 60 miles south-south-east from Babylon. It is mentioned as one of the towns with which Tyre carried on trade. It was finally taken and probably destroyed by one of the Assyrian kings (Amos 6:2).

Carchemish: fortress of Chemosh, a city on the west bank of the Euphrates (Jer. 46:2; 2 Chronicles 35:20), not, as was once supposed, the Circesium at the confluence of the Chebar and the Euphrates, but a city considerably higher up the river, and commanding the ordinary passage of the Euphrates; probably identical with Hierapolis. It was the capital of the kingdom of the northern Hittites. The Babylonian army, under Nebuchadnezzar here met and conquered the army of Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt (B.C. 607). It is mentioned in monuments in B.C. 1600 and down to B.C. 717.

Hamath: (fortress) the capital of one of the kingdoms of Upper Syria of the same name, on the Orontes, in the valley of Lebanon, at the northern boundary of Palestine (Numbers 13:21; 34:8), at the foot of Mt. Hermon (Joshua 13:5) towards Damascus (Zechariah 9:2; Jeremiah 49:23). It is called "Hamath the great" in Amos 6:2, and "Hamath-zobah" in 2 Chronicles 8:3. Also read Joshua 13:5, 2 Kings 14:28.

Arpad : (Arphad) a Syrian city near Hamath, along with which it is invariably mentioned (2 Kings 19:13; 2 Kings 18:34; Isaiah 10:9), and Damascus (Jeremiah 49:23).

Samaria: the largest city in the northern area of Israel.

Damascus: the largest city in Syria.

Midian: (strife) the fourth son of Abraham by Keturah, the father of the Midianites (Genesis 25:2; 1 Chronicles 1:32).

Oreb: (raven) By the time of the judges, the Midianites, led by two princes Oreb and Zeeb, were raiding Israel with the use of swift camels, until they were decisively defeated by Gideon. Oreb, Zeeb and many of the Midianites were slain. The place where Gideon slew Oreb is called the Rock of Oreb. It is probably a place now called Orbo, on the east of Jordan near Beth-Shean.

Aiath: (hour; eye; fountain) The Ai mentioned by in Joshua 8 is also mentioned by the Book of Genesis as having been a religious sanctuary, founded by Abraham (the area he settled, is stated by the Bible to have been between Bethel and Ai). This is about 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem.

Migron : (precipice or landslip) a place between Aiath and Michmash. The town of the same name mentioned in 1 Sam. 14:2 was to the south of this, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem.

Michmash: (something hidden) a town of Benjamin (Ezra 2:27), east of Bethel and south of Migron, 7.5 miles north of Jerusalem. It lay on the line of the march of an invading army from the north, on the north side of the steep and precipitous Wadi es-Suweinit ("valley of the little thorn-tree" or "the acacia"), and now bears the name of Mukhmas. This wadi is called "the passage of Michmash" (1 Sam. 13:23). Immediately facing Mukhmas, on the opposite side of the ravine, is the modern representative of Geba, and behind this again are Ramah and Gibeah. This was the scene of a great battle fought between the army of Saul and the Philistines, who were utterly routed and pursued for some 16 miles towards Philistia as far as the valley of Aijalon.

Geba: (the hill) a Levitical city of Benjamin on the north border of Judah, near Gibeah. It has been identified with Jeb’a, about 5 ½ miles north of Jerusalem. Asa built up Geba from stones meant for Ramah. 1 Kings 15:22 and 2 Chronicles 16:6.

Ramah: Ramah in Benjamin is a city of ancient Israel. It was located near Gibeon and Mizpah to the West, Gibeah to the South, and Geba to the East. It is identified with modern Er-Ram, about 5 miles north of Jerusalem. The city is first mentioned in Joshua 18:25.

Gibeah of Saul: To the east of Route 60, about 3 miles north of the Old City of Jerusalem, you pass the high ridge of Tel el-Ful ("hill of beans"), the location of Gibeah, Saul's capital overlooking the land of Benjamin, the Dead Sea and the Hills of Moab. Gibeah ("hill") was situated on the main north-south highway connecting Shechem, Jerusalem and Hebron. Lying just north of Jerusalem at an elevation of 2,754 feet and higher than the Mount of Olives, its position provided a panoramic view of the entire central region.

Gallim: (who heap up; who cover) 1 Samuel 25:44 The native place of Phalti, to whom Michal was given by Saul. It was probably in Benjamin, to the north of Jerusalem.

Laish: (a lion) It has been supposed to be the modern el-Isawiyeh, about a mile north-east of Jerusalem.

Anathoth: the name of one of the cities of refuge, in the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 21:18). The Jews, as a rule, did not change the names of the towns they found in Palestine; hence this town may be regarded as deriving its name from the goddess Anat. It was the native place of Abiezer, one of David's "thirty" (2 Sam. 23:27), and of Jehu, another of his mighty men (1 Chronicles 12:3). It is chiefly notable, however, as the birth-place and usual residence of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1; 11:21-23; 29:27; 32:7-9). It suffered greatly from the army of Sennacherib, and only 128 men returned to it from the Exile (Nehemiah 7:27; Ezra 2:23). It lay about 3 miles north of Jerusalem. It has been identified with the small and poor village of 'Anata, containing about 100 inhabitants.

Madmenah: a town in Benjamin, not far from Jerusalem, towards the north (Isaiah 10:31). The same Hebrew word occurs in Isaiah 25:10, where it is rendered "dunghill." This verse has, however, been interpreted as meaning "that Moab will be trodden down by Jehovah as teben [broken straw] is trodden to fragments on the threshing-floors of Madmenah."

Gebim: (cisterns, rendered "pits," Jeremiah 14:3; "locusts," Isaiah 33:4), a small place north of Jerusalem, whose inhabitants fled at the approach of the Assyrian army.

Nob: (high place) a city of the priests, first mentioned in the history of David's wanderings (1 Samuel 21:1). Here the tabernacle was then standing, and here, Ahimelech the priest resided. According to Isaiah 10:28-32, it was on the south of Geba, on the road to Jerusalem, and within sight of the city. Today it is called Mt. Scopus and it is inside the Jerusalem city limits. After being supplied with the sacred loaves of showbread, and girding on the sword of Goliath, which was brought forth from behind the ephod, David fled from Nob and sought refuge at the court of Achish, the king of Gath, where he was cast into prison. (Comp. titles of Ps. 34 and 56.)

Well, that was a major undertaking that will certainly carry some significance as this study continues! When I initially read this chapter, all the place names bogged me down, but there is so much more here than those geographic locations. This is a far-reaching prophecy that has as much to do with the captivity of the northern tribes as it has to do with the future of Israel. Just keep in mind as you read these verses that “the Assyrian” refers to the King of Assyria, Sennacherib. If you want to see more about him and his demise, read 2 Kings 19. Yet “the Assyrian” is one of 33 Old Testament titles of the antichrist, and Isaiah 10 is one of many chapters that tell us much of that coming day. Keep in mind that Isaiah 10 is a continuation of Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the northern tribes to King Ahaz, from the House of Judah, who did not follow the Lord. With all the background information taken care of, let’s press on to discuss the first few verses of this chapter:

1 "Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed 2 To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. 3 What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? 4 Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain." For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

The chapter actually appears to be a continuation of Isaiah 9, as we can see the stanza end with the familiar phrase, “For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.” Remember, men put the chapters and verses into the Bible to make it easier for us to study centuries ago, and those chapter breaks don’t always occur where they should. This passage is discussing the unfairness of the legal system and how it hurts the poor more than the rich. Carry that forward to our time, and you can see much of the same. The O.J. Simpson trial demonstrated the ability to buy a verdict with the cost of “the dream team” of attorneys, with complete disregard of the evidence presented. The widows and orphans, two groups of people special to the Lord, are mentioned as some of the needy being robbed of justice. As I have mentioned before, every time I see the word “justice” in the Bible it brings certain thoughts to mind. Though we put much priority on justice, we have two different systems. One is the justice of man and the other is the justice of God. There was a time when the two were more closely related, but as we see the Ten Commandments, or any reference thereof, being removed from man’s judicial system, we know our system is very near bogging down. God is the only Judge and Jury! Sometimes, we have a tendency to cry out for justice, but don’t lose sight of the fact that if God gave us what we deserved, it would be death! I am so glad that He gave me what He wanted to give me, rather than what I earned with my life! Isaiah speaks of the day of punishment and the desolation that will come from afar. This speaks specifically to the Jews of that era, who were about to be hammered by the Assyrians. Though this was a prophecy of that event, it still speaks prophetically today of the Great Tribulation. We know from the Bible that the antichrist will make a peace treaty with Israel. On that day, the seven-year tribulation begins. After three and a half years, at the halfway point, the antichrist will defile the Jewish temple with an image of himself. This event is referred to in the Bible as the abomination of the desolation. At that point, the last half of the tribulation begins, and is called the Great Tribulation. Daniel wrote about this event in the Old Testament, and Jesus calls attention to it in the New Testament:

15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.
Matthew 24:15-22 (NKJV)

What you can see from the verses in Matthew and those in Isaiah 10 is the alacrity of the event. It will happen in one day, and the tone will be changed completely. I love the question in verse three of “To whom will you flee for help?” There is only One worth fleeing to as He has created us all and loves us! Without Him, as the verses continue, they will bow down among the prisoners and shall fall among the slain. Without Him, we are dead! There are two deaths to be concerned with…physical death and spiritual death. For some reason, most people fear physical death but the second death is the one that will hurt far worse. I cannot even begin to imagine being faced with eternity without God, with the knowledge of His power and love! As I mentioned in the discussion on Isaiah 9, the stanza finishes with a testament to the fact that God’s anger continues with the Jews. The passage then shifts, as we begin the discussion of the next verses:

5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6 I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 7 Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. 8 For he says, 'Are not my princes altogether kings?

The scene shifts to Assyria. The Assyrian Empire ruled for a period of 700 years. It was conquered, and replaced, by the Babylonian Empire. God had protected the Jews, His chosen people, from this empire, but as they continued to disobey Him, God used the heathens as His own instrument. Yet God is also saying that its power is not unending. Only His is! It is interesting to note that while God uses Assyria as His instrument to inflict punishment on the Jews, Isaiah speaks here of two instruments of the Lord we should be familiar with, the rod and the staff. Both are apparent in Psalm 23. A rod is an instrument of correction, while a staff is one of direction or control. Think of how a shepherd wields this instrument. If the sheep need to be gently coerced to follow him in the proper way, the shepherd will use the crook at the end to pull the sheep in the right direction. If the sheep fails to heed the gentle coercion, the shepherd might use the side of the same instrument and pop the sheep in the butt to get his attention. Don’t forget who the sheep are and who the Shepherd is! God is sending the King of an ungodly nation against the people of another ungodly nation, Israel. The Jews are the people of His wrath. God gives the Assyrians, and the antichrist, the ability to seize the spoil and take the prey and tread them down like the dirt in the streets. The antichrist, and the King of Assyria, don’t know that God is using them. This always reminds me of the cross; it is a place that Satan thought was his biggest triumph when Jesus died. Yet the death of Jesus was Satan’s greatest defeat! Remember, any attack on us that comes from Satan or his demons is allowed by God. He would not allow it if there wasn’t a point. In the case of the Jews in the Great Tribulation, they look to the antichrist as the messiah they missed when Jesus came. When he turns on them, the Jews will finally see the error of their ways and turn to Jesus, the true Messiah. Verse 6 is significant in another way. The phrase, “to seize the spoil, to take the prey” brings us back to another interesting way God presented this prophecy. That is basically the name of Isaiah’s son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The heart of the King of Assyria, and the heart of the antichrist, is not to follow God’s direction and punish the Jews. Their hearts are both to destroy! Verse 8 is an interesting verse: “For he says, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings?’” If he is a king and his princes below him are kings, then he is the king of kings. We know that Satan tries to copy God in every way, as he knows that God is perfect in every way. God is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and in the tribulation, Satan attempts his own trinity of Satan, the antichrist and the false prophet. Jesus is the King of Kings, and even here, you see the antichrist's feeling of being a king of kings! Let’s continue with the next section:


9 Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus? 10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols, Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria, 11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols, Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?' "

This is one of the sections where you might want to refer to the chart above. This first section of cities seems to refer to battle cities of old. For example, the Battle of Carchemish was the one where King Nebuchadnezzar established himself as a world ruler in 606 B.C. These are not just cities in Israel, as Damascus is across the border in Syria. Assyria would take all of this land, and there is certainly some significance to the antichrist that I do not see. I bet there will be people living in that time that will tie these verses in somehow, though. Remember, this is the King of Assyria speaking, along with the antichrist. His hand has found the kingdoms of idols, which were better than those in Jerusalem and Samaria. Jerusalem would be considered southern Israel, while Samaria is northern Israel. What is the kingdom with better idols? I am not certain, but I think this relates to Babylon. The city now in Iraq was the birthplace of all of the false religions of the world, and though the reference is a subtle one, I think that it pertains. Okay, here is the next section:

12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks." 13 For he says: "By the strength of my hand I have done it, And by my wisdom, for I am prudent; Also I have removed the boundaries of the people, And have robbed their treasuries; So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14 My hand has found like a nest the riches of the people, And as one gathers eggs that are left, I have gathered all the earth; And there was no one who moved his wing, Nor opened his mouth with even a peep." 15 Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, Or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!

Though the King of Assyria and the antichrist are afflicting the Jews, this passage reminds us once again that they are just instruments of the Lord. Verse 12 tells us overtly that “the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem.” This brings up the subject of free will. Do you think that God forced the King of Assyria or will force the antichrist to do these things? No! Just as in our lives, we have the ability to make choices. Yet God is outside of time and knows the choices that we all will make before we make them. So even though God can use their evil for His purposes, He will still punish them for that evil. This is yet another demonstration of my favorite verse:

8 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

In the Great Tribulation, God takes the worst that Satan can dish out to His chosen people and uses that to bring millions to Him, to the foot of the cross! From the foundation of the world, God already knew each of us who were to be called His! And He will make everything work for our good and for His glory! The passage refers to the root of sin, pride. In that short passage spoken by the King of Assyria and the antichrist, there are 5 I’s and 3 My’s. It’s easy to see the emphasis of both. It doesn’t matter who we are speaking of, whether it be Satan, the antichrist, the King of Assyria, or each one of us, we all have the tendency to call attention to our own accomplishments. With God, I can do anything. Without Him, I can do nothing. If you do a study of pride in the Bible, you will see how much God hates even a haughty look. A symbol of sin in the Bible is leaven, and along with this, you can get an idea of why the Jews were to use unleavened bread at most of the feasts. To understand this, think of what leaven does to bread. It puffs up, and that is exactly what pride does for each of us. Pride takes our eyes off of God and puts them on ourselves. Virtually, with the sin of pride, we begin to worship ourselves as God. As we get to Isaiah 14, you will see this in a deeper way as we discuss the fall of Satan. The speakers in the verses above believe they have the ability to do anything they want! Then God gives a reminder. An axe cannot do any work without the one who wields it. Otherwise, it just sits there. In the same manner, we know that God uses the rich, the powerful, the heathen, the poor, the weak and His followers to accomplish His purposes! Now, the next section:

16 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Will send leanness among his fat ones; And under his glory He will kindle a burning Like the burning of a fire. 17 So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And his Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briers in one day. 18 And it will consume the glory of his forest and of his fruitful field, Both soul and body; And they will be as when a sick man wastes away. 19 Then the rest of the trees of his forest Will be so few in number That a child may write them.

We see here that the high and mighty will become the low and weak, as God judges the sins of the King of Assyria and the antichrist. Sennacherib’s reign was not as far-reaching as he thought. He took the northern tribes into captivity, but God did not allow him or his forces to enter Jerusalem. After Hezekiah’s prayer, the Lord sent an angel to destroy 185,000 of Sennacherib’s warriors, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Sennacherib was murdered 20 years later by two of his own sons. (2 Kings 19) The Lord will judge the antichrist, as well, though it won’t take 20 years! The Lord will kindle a burning fire. Fire, as I have mentioned before, is emblematic of judgment. For a refresher on this, turn back to Isaiah 6. Then we see another title of Jesus – the Light of Israel. Let’s see another verse:

35 Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."
John 12:35-36 (NKJV)

Jesus, and His words, illuminate our hearts and lives in a way that we can never look at anything the same way again. Light exposes evil, and takes away the darkness. Think about how easy it is to walk in a dark alley and feel the presence of so many things that are not really there. You don’t know what is there because you can’t see. Go back to the same alley the next day, and it is completely different, with all of your fears taken away. That’s what having the Light in your heart does for you all the time! That Light will be a flame that will devour the thorns and briers in one day. Once again, the thorns and briers take us to the parable of the four soils in Matthew 13. Thorns and briers choke out the plants, and here, the Lord will allow the plants to grow in fertile soil as He removes those impeding that growth. This will not occur in a slow manner, but immediately, in one day. At the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus will speak a holy word and slay His enemies. They will fall to the ground as if a forest had been cleared instantaneously. Having stood on the hill overlooking the plains of Megiddo, it is chilling to picture the destruction of so many people who will not acknowledge Him as their King. There will be so few remaining that a child could easily count the number. Now, the next section:

20 And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God. 22 For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, A remnant of them will return; The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.

“That day” refers to two different time periods, as the first was the day when the Jews would be able to return from captivity. Though all of the Jews were taken into captivity, only a remnant returned. The number, according to the Book of Ezra, seemed to be near 50,000. Yet “that day” also refers to “The Day of the Lord,” a time still in our future that the Bible says more of than the creation! Specifically, “the day of the Lord” is when Jesus will judge the nations, but is also emblematic of the difficult times leading up to that day. One third of the Jews will come to know Him as Messiah:

And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one- third shall be left in it: 9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.' "
Zechariah 13:8-9 (NKJV)

With 144,000 Jewish men filled with the Holy Spirit preaching to God’s chosen people, the harvest will be great! As exciting as it is to think of that many people coming to the Lord, it also grieves my heart to think that two-thirds will die. It is my perspective that the two-thirds will die in the many judgments of the Great Tribulation, but all of those who live to the end will have accepted Jesus as their Messiah. Once again, God has the ability to walk forward or backward in time, and He already knows each who will come to know Him. The two-thirds who die would never have come to know Him as Lord no matter what He did. That is His grace, along with His wrath. If we don’t think He is capable of wrath and judgment, we only have to look at the fact that two-thirds of His chosen people alive in the end days will perish without His salvation. This section of verses refers to the “House of Jacob,” rather than the “House of Israel” or the “House of Judah,” so that we will understand that it pertains to all of the 13 tribes. As stated before, the Jews will trust in the antichrist, who many Bible scholars believe is one of their own, possibly from the tribe of Dan. Yet his true character is revealed, and it says that the Jews will “never again depend on him who has defeated them.” Instead, they begin to trust in the Lord, His plan all along! The remnant will return. Does that phrase remind you of anything? Here is the other name of a son of Isaiah: Shear-jashub, meaning “a remnant shall return!” Isn’t God amazing! Even down to the names of Isaiah’s sons, He is pointing to the greatest day in the life of the nation of Israel, over 2,000 in advance! That remnant will return to the Mighty God, a title of God that shows us His all-powerful nature. He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent. Though the Jews are numbered as the sands of the sea, only a remnant will return. Even the destruction will overflow with the righteousness of the Lord, as a perfect God can not just ignore sin. Let’s go on:

24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: "O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. 25 "For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction." 26 And the LORD of hosts will stir up a scourge for him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; as His rod was on the sea, so will He lift it up in the manner of Egypt. 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

Once again, don’t lose sight of the fact that “the Assyrian” is a title of the antichrist. Yes, it also pertains to Sennacherib, the King of Assyria. We are reminded here once again of the Exodus, as this passage says that the antichrist will strike with his rod and lift up his staff as in the manner of Egypt. Once again, as discussed in Isaiah 9, this is a reference to the task master and how he treated the slaves. God tells us it is for a very little while. I don’t know how long that will be, but we know that there will be a peace treaty in Israel for at least the beginning of the tribulation. At the worst, this will last for three and a half years, but for the bulk of that time, the Jews will be in hiding. That place of hiding appears to be Petra, Jordan, where numerous Jews could find shelter in the amazing rock city. Wherever they are, God will supernaturally protect them from the antichrist and his minions. This will all cease as all the forces of the world come against God. This would all be scary if we didn’t know how the story ended. Those of us who are Christians today will have the best seat in the house for the final act, as we will be clothed in white alongside our Savior and will join Him in the air as members of His army! The real key to the verse goes hand in hand with the cessation of the indignation. God’s anger in their destruction will also cease. Five times we saw the verse that said His anger was not turned away and His hand was still stretched out to them. Now, that is over, and He calls them close to Himself, once again. It says that the Lord will stir up a scourge for the antichrist “like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb, as His rod was on the sea.” This is telling us that God will intervene in the same way He did with Gideon and his 300 from Judges 7, when they defeated a much larger army, including Oreb. Additionally, it makes reference to His rod on the sea, in reference to the miracle of the Red Sea crossing. Don’t ever put God in a box and expect Him to do things with our logic! He is as creative in His solutions as He was in creation! The antichrist’s burden will be taken from the shoulder of the Jews. Though his yoke was heavy and controlling, it will be destroyed, because of the anointing oil. We can’t go ahead without looking at this verse:

28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Matthew 11:27-30 (NKJV)

This anointing oil refers to Hezekiah in the dealings with Sennacherib, but the anointing one in the time to come is Jesus! Oil is emblematic in the Bible of the Holy Spirit. And now, let’s finish the chapter:

28 He has come to Aiath, He has passed Migron; At Michmash he has attended to his equipment. 29 They have gone along the ridge, They have taken up lodging at Geba. Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul has fled. 30 Lift up your voice, O daughter of Gallim! Cause it to be heard as far as Laish--O poor Anathoth! 31 Madmenah has fled, The inhabitants of Gebim seek refuge. 32 As yet he will remain at Nob that day; He will shake his fist at the mount of the daughter of Zion, The hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

Once again, without our handy-dandy chart above, this might be a little confusing. The towns mentioned here are all north of Jerusalem. We begin in Aiath, 30 miles northeast of Jerusalem, then venture to Migron, 30 miles north of Jerusalem. We continue to Michmash, 7.5 miles north of Jerusalem, then go on to Geba, 5.5 miles to the north. Next is Ramah, 5 miles north, followed by Giebeah of Saul, a little closer. The same can be said of Gallim and Laish. Then onto Anathoth, the birthplace of Jeremiah, 3 miles north of Jerusalem, followed by Madmenah, Gebim and Nob. Nob is actually inside the city of limits of Jerusalem today and means “high place.” From that high place, you can see all of Jerusalem from the northeast corner. What God detailed here is the exact path that one man already made, the King of Assyria, and the same path another will make, the antichrist, on their ways into Jerusalem. There will be no guesswork by the believing Jews of the time as they have been told of this many, many years in advance. The antichrist will shake his fist at Mt. Zion, God’s holy hill. Just as God sent Sennacherib away in defeat, He will also send the antichrist away in defeat. The proud will be brought down to size, the size they should be if they could only realize the size and power of God! The last verse is a reference to a mighty forest as the Bible speaks continuously of the mighty cedars of Lebanon. It doesn’t matter if they are the mightiest trees on the earth, the Mighty One will destroy them as easily as He created, with a breath!

That concludes Isaiah 10. This is such an important chapter in the upcoming lives of the Jews. My favorite part is the grace of God. Though His wrath was mighty, His grace returned, and just as He has done in each or our lives, He had to forgive so much. When the Bible says that our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west, it describes how far away those sins have gone. We remember them, but God doesn’t, as they have already been paid for by the death of His Son! Thank You, Lord, for calling me to You!