Book of Isaiah

The Work of the Messiah

/ Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

The Work of the Coming Messiah

Book of Isaiah Chapter 8-9

We should always understand, when God’s enemies threaten God’s people, then God’s people can only be delivered by following God’s directions! God teaches us all that His “judgment” will come on all those who reject His warnings.

God had warned all of Israel and now even more so Judah of a terrible time of distress that was close at hand. King Ahaz and all the people except a very small remnant had forsaken God.

When we forsake God we will be forsaken by God!

King Ahaz had rejected any “sign” of deliverance that was offered to him by God’s Prophet and had place his security and the security of Judah, into the hands of the King of Assyria.

The people of Judah which lived in such a fear and terror now had turned to wizards and necromancers for guidance, instead of seeking the Lord for answers.

Have you ever been out on a dark night when it seemed that you could just feel the darkness? Well a very dark cloud was approaching God’s people, in fact a darkness that could be felt as it approached.

As we know after the dark and cloudy days, God’s Sun always shines, so God’s prophet Isaiah, now spoke of the sunrise after such a dark and cloudy time for the Jewish people.

Let’s begin:

*****Isa 8:21  And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. 
Isa 8:22  And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness. 

We should clearly understand when God’s people are suffering because of the enemies of Christ, God has an open ear. When God’s people are suffering because God’s chastisement, that suffering will do nothing to turn away God’s anger.

The only way for that suffering to end is genuine repentance!

When a people can only see a picture of terrible darkness and gloom in their future, a picture of even more suffering many times they will become infuriated. They will curse their own government and all those that do not know the Lord will curse Him also!

Maybe even some of those that do know the Lord!

When hopelessness grips a people they are soon taken captive by it and live a life of misery! They will seek anything that seems to bring pleasure in this life even if it brings health and/or financial ruin. Laws will have no meaning, all authority will be rejected and even the simplicity of Christ will seem to be a great burden.

We can be saved from being caught up in these things!

What is God’s answer?

Act 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
Act 2:39  For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 
Act 2:40  And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation”. 

God says we must make a choice!

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

God says those that trust Him will always find a light at the end of the tunnel!

This what Isaiah was preaching to God’s people, the Jews!

What does God promise to those who trust Him? Deliverance!
Why did Christ Jesus come the first time? To preach this time of the “Grace of God”!

Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 

Deliverance, but by the Lord Jesus Christ.

“God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”

*****Isa 9:1  Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 
Isa 9:2  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah wanted the people of Judah to completely understand, though they were facing a terrible time in the near future, a glorious future still lay ahead in another time!

Isaiah wanted these people to know, there was coming a day when Israel would be united and be able to stand against all her enemies.

What do we know? The land of Zebulon and Naphtali were the first to feel the attacks of foreign powers and became known as the Galilee of the Gentiles, in the days of Jesus. Some say the Galilee of the nations, meaning the same land that had been trampled upon by every foreign invader that had ever entered into Palestine.

It can be said that it was here in this Galilee of the Gentiles where the true light shined, because it was here where the Lord Jesus Christ lived during His ministry. It is from this same area where the Lord chose His 12 disciples.

Mat 4:12  Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 
Mat 4:13  And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 
Mat 4:14  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 
Mat 4:15  The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 
Mat 4:16  The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 
Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

When there is a prophesy in the Word of God there will be a fulfillment of that prophesy!

This the land where the Jew knew they were walking in the shadow of death but those who knew the Lord could have no fear!

When we are walking in such places God reminds us that He is walking with us.

Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 
Psa 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 
Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 
Psa 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 
Psa 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 
Psa 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. 

The truth is when we see God’s “warning” we will always see God’s “nevertheless”, a means of escape, where God’s “wrath” becomes God’s “mercy” when we repent!

In fact when we study the Scriptures, we will most always find the clearer promises of the Lord have been given to us in the darkest hours!

Every prophet of God that told of the darkness of Israel and the darkness of evil in this world also prophesied of the Messiah, the Savior! When lies and falsehoods rule the hour, we always see the promise of the Messiah to remove all unbelievers and shine in all His glory.

Jer 23:5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

In our sinful nature we stumble and grope through this world blind to the truth of the spiritual world. Every effort is spent on living as long as possible or just giving up and living in egregious sin for a short life of misery.

The truth is there is “no one who will not get the opportunity” to witness the light of Jesus before their death, in any instance!

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 

Joh 8:24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. 

When we accept our Savior, we no longer have to live in the darkness of this world!

*****Isa 9:3  Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

The truth is when the Messiah returns to rule this earth for 1000 years, those who have made it through the 7 years of tribulation will begin to multiply.

There will also be a great increase in joy!
That joy will be according to having a great harvest when there had been only a meager planting.
Their joy will be as a great victory over the enemy as it is the victorious soldiers who divide the spoil of the enemy.

Just as the seed had to pass through a long process while depending on the Lord of the harvest, there will be a great victory!
Just as the army of God has gone through a long and painful campaign depending on the Lord of host, there will be a great victory!

Isa 61:9  And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. 
Isa 61:10  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 
Isa 61:11  For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. 

The Lord will have broken the burden of sin in this world!
The spiritual joy of the Lord will be with all His people!
These are promises made to the Jews.

*****Isa 9:4  For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 
Isa 9:5  For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. 

It is true that Midian had been a great burden to Israel for a period of time.

Jdg 6:1  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. 

It is also true that during the trial of Jesus, the Jewish people had made another even more serious mistake!

Mat 27:24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. 
Mat 27:25  Then answered all the people, and said, “His blood be on us, and on our children”.

They had cursed themselves and that burden will remain with them until the Messiah returns to set them free, so even a much greater burden will have been lifted at the Second Coming of Christ.

The Lord will have broken the yoke of sin’s prison. 
The Lord will have broken the yoke of Satan’s bondage.
The Lord will have broken the will to reject the Word of God.
The Lord will have washed them in the “Blood of Jesus” the only blood that cleanses.

Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

Rev 13:9  If any man have an ear, let him hear. 

At the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, all wars will then cease!

All the battle garments of all soldiers will then be just fuel for God’s fire!

Eze 39:8  Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 
Eze 39:9  And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 
Eze 39:10  So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD. 

And why are these things so true? Because the Son of God will be all the government that this world needs!

*****Isa 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 
Isa 9:7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 

Look out world, God says the Messiah will first come as the “God-Man”. (For unto us a child is born)
The Messiah will take the form of a human!

In our last lesson we saw that Isaiah had prophesied the sign of the Messiah. The Messiah would be born of a “Virgin”. Not just some young maiden but a young “Virgin” of marital age and according to the Jewish tradition of marriage!

Luk 1:35  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

God was even so bold to tell us where this birth of the Messiah would take place.

Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 

And God through the prophet Daniel gave us all a time frame for the birth of the Messiah and even His return. Though no one will ever know the exact day or the exact hour.

**(Unto us a Son is given) Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 
Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

**(Then shall the government be upon His shoulder) The Messiah will have the undisputable right to govern this entire world! The Messiah will put his shoulder into this work!

Jer 23:5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 
Jer 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

**(The Messiah would be called “Wonderful-Counsellor”) The Messiah would be the Fountain of wisdom and understanding, with the mind that rules all things!

Isa 28:29  This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. 

Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. 

The Messiah, is the One person, who can feel what we feel and the only person who can teach us how to have victory in life!

**(The Mighty God) As the Mighty God, the Messiah can do things that no one can even conceive.

He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (present everywhere at the same time)

The Messiah can save anyone, the very moment they call out to Him in “faith”, under any conditions!.

He is the Savior, He is the Redeemer, He is the Deliverer, He is everything that we have ever needed and He is also the Perfection of beauty!

Psa 50:1 The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. 
Psa 50:2  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. 
Psa 50:3  Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. 

**(The everlasting Father)

Even with all His power and all His wisdom and all His understanding, the Messiah is first the most perfect Father than any of us have ever seen!
He knows that those who trust Him are His children He will never forsake any of us, for any reason!
He is exceeding in tenderness and compassion!

Heb 2:13  And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 
Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

Isa 40:10  Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. 
Isa 40:11  He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

**(Prince of Peace)

The truth of the Messiah, (Jesus Christ) is that, not only does He bring peace to the human heart, when He returns, He will also bring world-wide peace to every nation.

“Prince” means he will be the principle ruler of this world and all His creation. For 1000 years this world will be filled with a people of peace!
And a peaceful people will want to worship the Lord of Peace!

A heart that knows true “forgiveness” can have “peace with God” and “the peace of God”!

Php 4:7  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 
Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

The Messiah will return to this earth “to establish God’s Kingdom”!

It is during this time that it can be truly said that the “Gospel” has reached every ear and every heart. As Daniel said “the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands has filled the whole earth”

Dan 2:44  And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 

By being the adopted son of Joseph, the Messiah is the living heir to the throne of David and the last One because He cannot die and the Church is the “bride of Christ” and His children, the remaining heirs, who also cannot die!

Remember it is not the Church that joins with the Jews, it is the Jews who will join with the Church. There will never be but one way to be in the family of God and this is “Faith” in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!

God will fulfill the promise He made to King David:

Psa 132:11  The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. 

God will fulfill the promise He made to Israel:

Jer 3:17  At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 
Jer 3:18  In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 

Israel will be reunited, there are no lost tribes of Israel and there never have been. God has always known where His people are located!

God will keep all His promises!

**The Messiah will rule with a rod of iron, but His kingdom will be established in righteousness.

Isa 42:21  The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable. 

The zeal of the Lord, “to sanctify His great name as the only Savior”, will have caused all these things to happen!

Eze 36:21  But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 
Eze 36:22  Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 
Eze 36:23  And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 
Eze 36:24  For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 

No one will ever again profane the name of the Lord!

We are a foolish people if we do not want to be a part of the Kingdom of the Messiah, The Lord Jesus Christ!

It is obvious that we can see our world grow darker and darker in sin.
The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah get more evident in our world today.
The governments become more and more corrupt.
Evil is called good and good is called evil.
God’s people are even more hated than ever before!

These things are all facts!

It is obvious, that the truth of God is, that Jesus Christ was much much more than just some great teacher or some great prophet.

God says we need to get our minds wrapped around this truth!

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 
Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

The Lord, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is declared in every manner possible to possess all the attributes which make God, God!

Those that attack the Lord Jesus Christ have attacked the Word of God and God Himself!

Why would we not expect them to see the wrath of God?

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

This is the truth of the Scriptures!

This is the only Light that shine shine through the darkness of this world!

Questions?

Let’s Pray! 

The Time of the Messiah

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

The Sign of the Coming Messiah

Book of Isaiah 6; 7

Today we get a little glimpse of Heaven and then one of the greatest prophecies to ever be fulfilled, the recognition of the Messiah.

We will first see the testimony of a prophet’s call to serve the Lord.

We will next the prophecy of the Messiah and the sign of His truth.

Let’s begin:

*****Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, “high and lifted up”, and his train filled the temple. 

King Uzziah had ruled for 52 years, longer than any other King of Israel. No doubt that as Isaiah witnessed the death of one of Israel’s better kings, Jehovah God decided it was time to give Isaiah a glimpse of the King of Kings upon His throne in Heaven.

The first thing we notice is, that God did not show Isaiah His majesty as the Lord Jesus had but showed him in a way that he could understand the true King of our universe.

Isaiah saw the true King and the true “Judge” of Israel who would rule for much more than 52 years but in fact forever!

Isaiah had seen the throne of Uzziah but now in the throne room of God, he sees a throne much higher and much more lifted up than any throne of this earth and upon it sat “Adonai”.

Adonai is the divine character of God and is applied to Jesus Christ through the title “Lord”.

Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 
Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is “Lord”, to the glory of God the Father. 

The title “Lord” then, denotes the divine sovereignty of Christ.

2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus “the Lord”; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 
Rom 14:6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto “the Lord”; and he that regardeth not the day, to “the Lord” he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to “the Lord”, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to “the Lord” he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 
Rom 14:7  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 

The title “Lord” says This Lord is also our true King!

1Ti 6:14  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of “our Lord” Jesus Christ: 
1Ti 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and “Lord” of lords; 
1Ti 6:16  “Who only hath immortality”, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. 

It should be obvious that Isaiah was not only a prophet but he was also a priest as he had witnessed the regal robes of the High Priest that could not compare to the regal robe of the Lord, Adonai.

We should consider that this throne and this majesty is part of what our Lord gave up to come to this earth to die in payment for our sin!

What did the Lord Jesus say?

Joh 6:62  What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up “where he was before”? 

This is what the Lord Jesus was referring to and this is what Isaiah saw in his vision on this day but he also saw much, much more.

*****Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 
Isa 6:3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 
Isa 6:4  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

The one thing certain about all angels is that they are “created beings” but just in a higher order than humans!

Angels are not subject to the limitations of mankind!

Angles are also spiritual beings, though they may reveal themselves to mankind in the form of human bodies.

They do not have corporeal bodies as humans do!

There are more angels in existence than can be counted and that number will not change because they simply cannot die!

Angels have greater wisdom than humans but that wisdom is still limited.
Angels have greater power than humans but that power is still limited.
Angels, however, still have limitations in their relationship with God!

Angels were never created in the image of God, so they certainly cannot share in man’s destiny of redemption and a “Glorified Body”, as that of Christ!

There is coming a time when each redeemed man will be exalted above every angel!

1Co 6:3  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 

Some also believe there are orders of angels some higher than others, and that can be true, but the Scriptures do not actually say this.

It is certain, though angels have many things in common, they also have separate functions as we see here and as we see with Michael and Gabriel!

We also know that angels have the freedom of choice as we see with Lucifer.

Even with the angels, all choices have consequences!

The truth that we do know, is that all angels serve as the ministers to God!

The “seraphim”, in this Scripture have the ministry to God “in surrounding the throne of God as they attend God’s holiness”.

It is the “seraphim” who declare that mankind must be cleansed of sin’s defilement before we can stand before God and serve Him!

They are not to be confused with the cherubim “who have the ministry of defending God’s holiness”!

This is the reason that Cherubim are on the Ark of God rather that the Seraphim.

The cherubim had 4 wings while the seraphim have 6 wings but there are still other differences.

With two wings the seraphim covered their eyes, for they felt unworthy to look upon the holiness of God.
With two wings they covered their feet, because they felt unworthy to walk where God walked.
With two wings they flew continuously, while crying one to another “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory”.

If we think of these things as just being symbolic, then we better not miss what Isaiah saw!

Isaiah saw the Supreme “Authority” of God, His throne higher then all thrones of this earth!
Isaiah saw the Supreme “Glory” of God”, His majesty filled all the Heavenly Temple!
Isaiah saw the Supreme “Holiness” of God, Holy, Holy, Holy! (The number 3 a perfect number, describing the perfect “Holiness” of God)

We must clearly understand there is a vast spiritual universe that far exceeds the material things we can see with our own eyes!

In truth, all of God’s creation declare the Glory of God, just as these seraphim have declared!

Psa 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

The movement of the door and the house filled with smoke, was the reaction of God’s Holy nature against sin!

This is also the reaction of our Father in Heaven, when one of His children has realized that they are in the clutches of Satan and repent and call on the Lord!

Psa 18:6  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. 
Psa 18:7  Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 
Psa 18:8  There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. 
Psa 18:9  He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. 
Psa 18:10  And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind. 
Psa 18:11  He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 
Psa 18:12  At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. 
Psa 18:13  The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 
Psa 18:14  Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them. 
Psa 18:15  Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils. 
Psa 18:16  He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. 
Psa 18:17  He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. 
Psa 18:18  They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. 

Amen.

So, Isaiah quickly realized that he also wanted to be and he also needed to be a servant of the Lord!

*****Isa 6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 

Isaiah immediately felt the “Grace” of God but more important he also felt his unworthiness to be a servant of God!

Isaiah was probably already a priest at this time but Isaiah now had a clearer vision of the Lord.

We must all realize the truth of the God we serve!

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

We must know the Lord and we must know who He is before we can serve Him as our Lord!

We must see the Lord exactly like Isaiah saw Him, “high and lifted up” above all His creation!

If we cannot recognize the Lord Jesus Christ in this manner, we are wasting our time in trying to serve Him!

We are all humans of unclean lips!
We all live in the midst of a people with unclean lips!

And God says:

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not “the unclean thing”; and I will receive you, 
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

So how do we become a servant of the Lord?

*****Isa 6:6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 
Isa 6:7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 

**To be a servant of the Lord we must realize that all the “seen world” and all the “unseen world”, are subordinate to the fact that we have a Creator!

Our Lord rules supreme over His own creation!

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 
Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 

The Lord Jesus is the glue that binds all His creation together!

**To be a servant of the Lord we must understand that The Lord Jesus is truly the sinless Son of God and the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit being the third!

Jesus Christ is the sinless Savior of the world that He created! Only when we realize the truth of these things, can our Lord become our “Redeemer”!

To be the Savior of this world, “is by God’s design” and Christ came “to freely offer pardon and purity” to all that truly believe upon Him!

We must also realize, our Savior, who will be King, demands our service after His pardon!
We should also realize, the Lord will not hesitate to discipline that servant until their loyalty is assured!

**To be a servant of the Lord, we must first realize we are a sinner and to get close to the Lord, then that sin must be purged!

I believe we can understand this “coal” as being the Word of God because Isaiah was then called to be a messenger of God, a true Prophet.

Jer 23:29  Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 

What do we know of the altar of the burnt offering. God commanded for that fire to be always burning!

Lev 6:12  And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 
Lev 6:13  The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. 

To put that fire out would show disobedience to the Word of God!
To allow that fire to go out would show neglect of the things of God!

We must understand that in “typology” this represents a type of Christ Jesus and His sacrifice for our sin.

The altar of “the Cross”, is always burning because the Lord’s sacrifice, “satisfied a Holy God who had required our own death for our sin”.

God allowed the sinless blood of Jesus to cover all sin!

This angel, being a minister of the Lord, had in his mouth the Word that he had received from his Holy God, who sits on the throne of Glory above the altar of His dear Son!

This event will happen again during the 7 year tribulation period.

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 
Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. 

Isaiah then realized that God had given him something that had to be shared with all his nation!

isaiah received his commission from the Lord!

*****Isa 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? “Then said I, Here am I; send me”. 

Isaiah got a little glimpse of Heaven.
The lips of Isaiah had been purified.
Now Isaiah can be in direct communication with the Lord.

You see, this is exactly what happens when we realize we are sinners and we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

We are then washed in the blood of Jesus and we can go right into the throne room of God without some intercessor of this earth! The Lord has become our personal “Intercessor”!

Isaiah knew the function of the priesthood because he was already a priest but not the High Priest.

It was only the High Priest who could go beyond the veil to be in the presence of God and he could only do this one time each year!

SO, What else happened at the cross beyond payment for all our sin?

Mar 15:37  And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. 
Mar 15:38  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

Isaiah found himself in the throne room of God and he heard God’s voice saying “whom shall I send”.

Now we know that God was in the presence of His angels.
We also know that Isaiah had no idea why God was making this request.
We also notice that not one angel volunteered!

SO Isaiah, being ignorant of the nature of this calling, freely accepts this call of God and throughout his long life, Isaiah never felt this calling to be a burden.

The answer God is looking for will always be “Here am I; send me”!

Notice another very important thing, God did not take time to consult with anyone else or anything else in Heaven because our Lord rules supreme through out all His creation!

Those that trust in the Word of God “by faith”, have never questioned the Book of Isaiah!

Joh 12:41  These things said Esaias, “when he saw his glory, and spake of him”. 

again:

Act 28:25  And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, “Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers”, 

Even the Lord Jesus:

Mar 7:6  He answered and said unto them, “Well hath Esaias prophesied” of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 
Mar 7:7  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 

The truth is, before we can serve the Lord, we must surrender all we have to the Lord and we must surrender to the Word of God!

It was these things brought the supreme response from the Lord!

*****Isa 6:9  And he said, “Go”, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 
Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 

We should understand that the Lord will not do anything that He has not revealed to us in His Word! We have all the truth we need for “salvation” and we have all the truth we need for “Judgment”!

We do not have to guess because we can know, because we have the complete Word of God. There are no lost books of the Bible!

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. 

There will never be a new prophecy that opposes the Word of God we now have! In fact there will never be anything new that opposes the Word of God we now have!

All the Word of God will go hand in hand with the “work” that God asks us to do! So just “Go” tell some one else about Jesus.

What was the command given to us all of the Lord?

Mat 28:19  “Go” ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

This was the same command given to Isaiah!

God was saying to Isaiah that the unbelief of his nation had caused them to reach a point where they could not understand the Divine principles of God.

Isaiah had a message of warning but Isaiah still maintained a message of salvation, all his days.

What was the truth of these people?

Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 

It is the “rapture” of the Church that will awaken Israel from this slumber!

This message God had for these Jews was a harsh message, so Isaiah wanted to know how long would this blindness, this foolishness, this rejection of the Lord, last.

How long would this “judgment of Israel last”?

*****Isa 6:11  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, “Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 
Isa 6:12  And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land”. 

For those who say this took place in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, they are wrong. That was just a taste of what is yet to come!

The Lord Jesus repeats these things to the Jews of His day after the time of Nebuchadnezzar:

Luk 19:42  Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 
Luk 19:43  For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 
Luk 19:44  And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 

The nation that had it’s beginning at the day of Isaiah’s calling was Rome and in 70 AD Titus of Rome devastated Jerusalem.

BUT, Even this did not remove the blindness of these people!

The Apostle Paul gives us the true answer.

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in”. (this would be the Rapture of the Church)
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 
Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

This time has not taken place and will not until after the Church is “called out” of this world!

So, How many of these Jews will actually come to know the Lord?

*****Isa 6:13  But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. 

The truth is, the Holy Seed of the Jew will arise from that stump that will be left when the Lord returns!

There will be a tenth that will go through the 7 years of Tribulation and of those that will remain will receive the promises of God given to David!

Amo 5:3  For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel. 
Amo 5:4  For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: 

From Ezekiel:

Eze 5:1  And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber’s razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. 
Eze 5:2  Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. 
Eze 5:3  Thou shalt also take thereof a few in number, and bind them in thy skirts. 
Eze 5:4  Then take of them again, and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel. 
Eze 5:5  Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her. 

And Zechariah:

Zec 13:8  And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 
Zec 13:9  And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. 

We can see that Isaiah had a harsh message for his own people but Isaiah never faulted and isaiah never quit on God!

Sometime had passed until the rule of Ahaz, the most evil of all the rulers of Judah and we will see the a most revealing prophecy from Isaiah by the Holy Spirit and the sign of the only One who could put an end to the misery of the Jew and bring salvation to this world.

*****Isa 7:11  Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 
Isa 7:12  But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 
Isa 7:13  And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 

First we notice that a prophet of God did not have a problem coming face to face with the government.

We hear a lot about Elijah and Ahaz and sometimes we forget that Isaiah also stood his ground for the Lord without fear.

A sign from the Lord was “an outward act that served as a pledge or a proof of His Divine Word”.

This sign could sometimes be natural sign but a sign could also be supernatural by God’s design! For instance:

We have the “Rainbow” in the day of Noah.
We have circumcision in the day of Abraham.
We have the sign given to Gideon. (the dew and the sheep’s wool)
Even evil King Saul received a sign of the truth of Samuel.
In the time of Jesus, miracles became a sign of His Divine power.
Jesus Himself said that Jonah and the whale was a sign of His death and His resurrection.

The thing we must observe in this Scripture is, that in this hour or this time that Isaiah and King Ahaz were together this day, the fate of the Jewish people is decided for more than 2000 years, even past the day we live now!

We should understand that King Ahaz had already rejected the Lord and the Word of God through God’s prophets.

At this time Ahaz was trusting in the false gods of Assyria and he was not about to ask for a sign from God, because he knew God might give him one that he did not want. Ahaz had already rejected the power of God and some sign would not change anything for him!

Ahaz was afraid he would have to commit to a policy that he had already lost faith in!

The Bible says:

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 

We see this beginning to be true in this day we live now because we are in these later times!

We should also realize, that when we ask God for proof of His existence, we are also showing a lack of “faith” but to refuse what God offers through His Prophet and His Word, is truly an insult to an all powerful God and Ahaz had insulted God with his lack of respect!

Ahaz and his sons represented the house of David at this time, but no other king of Judah had defied God as had Ahaz.

It could be said that Ahaz had renounced Judaism and had also renounced Jehovah!

God will not deliver a people who do not trust Him to deliver them!
God will only answer a prayer of “Faith”!
The greatest sin against the Lord is the sin of unbelief! (It cannot be forgiven)

“Therefore”

*****Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

King Ahaz refused to trust that the Lord would deliver Judah from the combined forces of the Northern Tribes and Syria and he had placed his faith in the forces of Assyria.

God decided on a “supernatural sign”. In the day of Isaiah an impossibility but today is certainly possible.

A young virgin maiden, “of marriageable age”, would have a son, not just any son but the Messiah. His name would be Immanuel (God with us).

We should not be fooled by modern translations, this was to be a “virgin” in all sense of the word virgin! This Son was to be the Messiah!

God says what He means and God means what He says!

This was to be a young Jewish virgin maiden of marriageable age with the strength, in every way, to carry this child of God!

This Son of this virgin would be the great “Deliverer” of Israel!

Rom 11:25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 
Rom 11:26  And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, “There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer”, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 
Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 

This virgin born Son, this Messiah, was to be born in Bethlehem. (First Coming)

This Son of this virgin, Mary, was to become the Redeemer and the Savior of mankind! (First Coming)

Luk_2:11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

2Ti_1:10  But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

1Jn 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 

To dispute these things is to dispute the Holy Spirit who also directed the Apostle Matthew.

This sign of the “virgin birth” of the Messiah was explained to Joseph who was also of the House of David, as was Ahaz to whom this prophesy was given.

Mat 1:20  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 
Mat 1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 
Mat 1:22  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 
Mat 1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 
Mat 1:24  Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 
Mat 1:25  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. 

Mary was a virgin at conception and remained a virgin until after the birth of the Messiah.

These things could never have been written about Hezekiah because he would have already been born before this time and was probably about 9 years old.

The efforts of King Ahaz would have destroyed Judah and Israel would never be resurrected and God could not allow that to happen!

This prophesy of Isaiah was to prove to Ahaz that Judah was invincible until the Messiah was born of this virgin, only after this could things change for Israel and Israel be devastated by Titus of Rome.

What would be the history of this child this Messiah?

*****Isa 7:15  Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 
Isa 7:16  For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. 

Adam lived in the Garden of Eden at the first and even knowing the law of God, he did not refuse to do evil.

The second Adam, the Messiah would witness the destruction caused by sin and He would refuse all evil and choose the good!

The Messiah would partake of the simple things of life because He would be raised by poor parents but Godly parents who would teach Him the truth of God.

God would be His true Father as he would be filled with the all power of Holy Spirit from His birth!

Remember also that Ahaz was taking a stand against Israel and Syria. His greatest problem was he trusted Assyria for protection rather than the hand of God.

Isaiah just informed King Ahaz that both those two nations would both lose their kings and this was not something that should be of concern to him.

**2Ki 15:37  In those days the LORD began to send against Judah Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah. 
2Ki 15:38  And Jotham slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.

All these things were a warning to King Ahaz but he still rejected the Word of God through God’s prophet!

Ahaz had already rejected the Word of God given to Jacob:

Gen 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, “until Shiloh come”; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

The truth is, that the Jews have been without a ruler, without a judge, and without a King for more than 2000 years because they have rejected the true King of kings and the true Lord of Lords!

The virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is a major doctrine of the Church and the importance of it cannot be over stressed!

1) The Lord Himself gave this sign! The sign was not so much prophecy at is was the given child, the Son of God.

This sign would be a child given to all people, a gift from our Holy God!

2) It was the “first coming of this Child” that was the sign more than even “the birth of this Child”.

God informed the Jews of that day, that they must pay attention to what He was saying, so they would know when this thing took place and most all of them missed it. Those that realized the truth then rejected it!

This is the truth of all prophecy in the Word of God, we must all pay attention so we will know when these things take place and when we can expect the next one to take place.

What did Jesus say to these Jews?

Luk 12:54  And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is. 
Luk 12:55  And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass. 
Luk 12:56  Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; “but how is it that ye do not discern this time”?

They had missed the time and the purpose of the “Sign” God had given to them! 

As far as Bible prophecy for the Church is concerned, the next thing on God’s clock is the “Rapture” of the Church!

These prophesies concerning the Jews will take place after this!

Are you ready, to meet the Lord?

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

The Vineyard of God

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

God’s Vineyard

Book of Isaiah 5

It will clear things up in this chapter if we understand this “vineyard” is a type of “Israel”.

Isa 5:7  For the “vineyard” of the LORD of hosts “is the house of Israel”, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. 

We speak of parables often in the New Testament but there are also some parables in the Old Testament.

We must remember the truth of the parable.

A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning and they are always 100% accurate!

We could also say that Isaiah, by the Holy Spirit has written a song about God’s chastisement of Israel.

*****Isa 5:1  Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: 
Isa 5:2  And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. 

We could also say that this Singer is the Heavenly Father who is singing to His only begotten Son, the Son of God, with the song itself inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Mat_3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

It is only the Christian who will call the Lord, “My well-beloved” besides our “Father in Heaven”.

The truth of this song, this parable, is that God the Father, with His own hands, planted the nation of Israel when He called Abraham out of Ur and God did not plant Israel just anywhere but on a very fruitful hill. The “promised land”!

We can look at Israel today and see a land that blossoms because many the Jews have returned home to what was a wilderness that no one on this earth wanted until the Jews returned.

In the day of Isaiah, God is saying that there is no excuse for Israel not to produce fruit acceptable to the Lord! That also still holds for today!

God had placed His hedge of protection around this hill. God had gathered all the refuse and prepared the soil and God had only planted the choicest of vines. God cast out the abominations, all the inhabitants of Canaan and their idols and false gods, to make room for Israel.

God will clear the stumbling blocks from our path if we will only listen to Him. The “Choicest” of all vines is Christianity!

To the Jew, it is God’s promise to Abraham.

Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 
Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

When God builds His hedge of protection it means not only physical protection but it also means God has distinguished His people from all other laws and statutes and binds them to His own laws and statutes.

It was impossible to be a Jew and be freely attached to the rest of the world.

In fact it is impossible to be a Christian and still be a part of the rest of the world. We live in this world but we are not to be a part of this world!

Why is this so hard to understand?

God had built a tower, which means He would keep a watchful and protective eye on Israel at all times.

God had built a winepress also, because an abundance of fruit should have been forthcoming!

What happened? Only wild grapes grew, the choice vine withered! The Hebrew word “beushiym” means only poison berries or “stinking” “worthless” fruit grew from God’s vineyard.

God can say these things of His own children but it would not pay for the world to do so, the Lord is also a jealous God!

This is a sad commentary on the nation of Israel in this day! God still loved them but as far as spreading the Word of God to the known world of that day they were worthless to the Lord!

Jer 2:21  Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? 

God asks these same people, what else could He have done to produce good fruit?

*****Isa 5:3  And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 
Isa 5:4  What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? 

Remember this is a parable in a song, an earthly story with a heavenly truth.

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 

For those who will come face to face with the Lord at the “White Throne of Judgment”, I believe this question will be asked again and again, by the Lord.

What could God have done to make His salvation plan any more simple?

The truth is as always, most people just enjoy their sin to much to give it up!

When you enjoy your sin too much to give it up, then a lie becomes more acceptable than the truth!

As far as that vineyard is concerned, the farmer could not have done anything more to produce good fruit. So God says, “why should I be looking for good fruit, when nothing but bad fruit grows”.

As far as Judah, and most of these people were of Judah, nothing else could have been done!

Jesus said:

Luk 18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth”? 

The Lord Jesus will ask many, what else could have been done, because Jesus has given all He had in Heaven and His own life here on Earth that we can be saved!

We must also understand that the “Bride of Christ” is fashioned much like this vineyard of Isaiah’s prophesy.

God’s “church” consists of a people that the Lord has chosen (the choice vine), then planted on fertile ground and “all the needs” to produce good fruit, has been provided!

What is the truth of God?

Rom 11:20  Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: 
Rom 11:21  For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Rom 11:22  Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

SO, God says: “let me tell you what I am going to do”

*****Isa 5:5  And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: 
Isa 5:6  And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. 
Isa 5:7  For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. 

What is the one and only thing that God did? God removed His hedge of protection!

The only thing God has to do to destroy this world is to remove His hand of protection, humans will destroy themselves and this planet we live on!

We see that this is certainly much more than a parable because this passage fully explains what happened to Israel all these years, since that time.

We must understand where there is the privilege of God’s protection, then comes obligation and/or duty.

As Christians we are responsible for the privileges that God gives to us!

To some, to accept the Lord is just to miss on Hell but much, much more, is truly expected from God’s people but God still allows us to make choices!

My Pastor says all the time that the Holy Spirit was not given to us for our “enjoyment” because He was to given to us for our “employment”!

We don’t put on the armor of God just sit around and do nothing, nor do we put it on for our own protection, we put on the armor of God to go to war with the evil in this world!

We will have already secured our place in the New Heaven!

If the Lord had expected good fruit from His chosen nation, then what does the Lord expect from His chosen people, the Church?

The fruit that God expects in each and every one of us, “is the reproduction of the Lord’s own Divine nature” in as many others as we can reach with the “Gospel”.

How was man first created?

Gen 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 

This image of God, was lost by Adam when sin was found in him!

Gen 3:17  And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 
Gen 3:18  Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 
Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 

God’s purpose in each of us, is when He can see His own moral likeness formed in us, as we grow in the Lord!

It is to be through the covenant promises, that Israel will have the opportunity to be restored to God’s “Grace”!

The Church is to understand and promote these things!

Rom 11:27  For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 
Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. 
***Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 
Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 
**Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Knowing these things we see that God pronounced “woe” on all unbelievers.

*****Isa 5:8  Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth! 
Isa 5:9  In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. 
Isa 5:10  Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. 

A “woe” is a strong warning from God! From the time of Isaiah and on through our day there continues to be an absorption of small properties by wealthy landowners and after this, next comes evictions.

In Israel when Joshua divided the lands that land was to remain in that family!

In the day of Isaiah this meant a loss of rights of ownership and in some cases even all rights of citizenship. Today even our own government plays this evil game with it’s own people.

I can recall the day when the government was called the government of the people and for the people but it seems that all this has changed!

Mic 2:2  And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. 

When this happens, honest people become no more than slaves! The public that was once to be served by the government is reversed and it is the people who become the servants. Today in America, many have just accepted this role and about half of our nation even prefer it. Who can figure that one out?

Needless to say God does not like these things. As Christians we were once slaves to Satan and have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus no longer to be slaves of anyone especially our own government!

All lands belong to God and He has determined where we shall live. He will also determine if we need to relocate. If the water is rising where you live maybe you built to close to that water or it’s time to move. If you have a continuous drought year after year, maybe you need to relocate rather than blame others.

It is certain that God never intended for a few rich greedy people to possess all the lands.

It is also certain that God never intended for government rights to supercede the rights of the people!

God said the land would become desolate and even unproductive without the people living on it.

This is exactly what happened to Israel’s homeland when the Jews were physically removed by foreign governments. It seems that the world has forgotten this.

What is their sin?

Exo 20:17  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. 

And God continues:

*****Isa 5:11  Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! 
Isa 5:12  And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands. 
Isa 5:13  Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst. 
Isa 5:14  Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. 
Isa 5:15  And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.

A person is considered to be drunk when they can no longer function in a normal capacity!

In many cases this is the same time that the urge to consume more occurs and this is when this person is in a state of danger to himself as he has already past that degree of danger to all others.

We should clear up a point before we go any further.

Most people have a belief that God says we should live our life in moderation. They believe there is no sin when we self-govern our desires, our use, and our enjoyment to the things that pertain to this world and they include alcohol and drugs.

To be totally clear there can be no acceptable moderation in sin of any kind!

Though there be other things also, there can be no acceptable moderation in the drinking of alcohol!

Pro 23:29  Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 
Pro 23:30  They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 
Pro 23:31  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 
Pro 23:32  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 

If we are not to look upon wine and strong drink then surely we are not to drink it and God does not ever change, so it is never an acceptable practice!

In fact all substance abusers will fall into this same category!

They start drinking in the morning and drink until late into the night.
They go to drunken parties.
They listen to seductive music.
They engage in immoral activities.
They entice as many others as they can to join in their sinful behavior.
They disregard the fact that by “faith” in the work of the Lord, they can be relieved of all these evil things and forgiven.
They give no thought to the “judgment” of the Lord.

We see that word “therefore” which means because of these things.

Just as God had become nauseated by the false worship, God says, the land itself would spue out it’s inhabitants and we know that all of Israel went into captivity. The Northern tribes by the Assyrians and the Southern Tribes by Nebuchadnezzar.

All because they had rejected the Word of God!

In fact Jerusalem would be surrounded and all food and water would be cut off and certainly the honorable men would famish in hunger and many would die of thirst.

Death to many today, is conceived as a devouring monster.

There has never been a day since the time of Cain that this world has not seen death!

It is a fact, that death has an enormous appetite that can only be quenched by the Lord Jesus!

Satan may have had some power to influence death and he holds it over the heads of those who reject the Lord but reality death has a new Master, the Lord Jesus Christ! God has always had control of life!

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and “have the keys of hell and of death”. 

All those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, have doomed themselves to death and the grave and then eternal damnation!

God created the Burning Lake of fire for the Satan and the angels that followed him but Hell has had to enlarge itself over and over again to accept those whose father is the Devil.

Pro 27:20  Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Not only do the rich and the poor fall into the same trap but at every age since the beginning of time, these things have not changed. It seems we can never learn from the mistakes of the past and we have certainly rejected the lessons learned from the past!

What is the truth? The people of this earth wallow in their own dillusions!

God says, the mean man shall be brought down.
God says, the mighty man shall be humbled.
God says, the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.

These things will happen because God will “judge” this world in righteousness!

*****Isa 5:16  But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. 
Isa 5:17  Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. 

What is the reality of God’s “Judgment”?

God “insist” that this world follow in His righteousness and God’s “judgment” will allow this to happen.

We know the Lord of Host, as the Lord Jesus Christ, they are one and the same!

Jesus Christ is the Lord of the armies of Heaven:

Rev 19:11  And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 
Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 
Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 

Christ Jesus is truly God over all things and He is certainly Holy!

“Righteousness”, means God will only do things that are always the right thing to do!

And what happens after the “judgment of God”.

There are two ways to look at this Scripture.

1) The judgment of God brought utter devastation to Jerusalem in the time of Titus of Rome. Foreign nations swept across Israel destroying everything in their path, leaving behind only a place fit to graze sheep upon.

Isa 32:14  Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 

Isa 32:15  Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 

2) This wilderness will become fruitful and the redeemed of the Lord will feed without fear and the Gentiles who had never heard the Word of God, who are aliens from the common wealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the Lord, can now be fed in the waste places of the fat ones.

Amo 9:14  And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 
Amo 9:15  And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God. 

So God continues, woe to them that reject the truth.

*****Isa 5:18  Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: 
Isa 5:19  That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! 

If we can imagine a spiders web, we can understand these are cords of vanity. Each sin then is like unto a small strand of the spiders web that is fragile and easily broken but as each sin is added it becomes part of a web that becomes strong enough to trap the innocent and lead them to their eternal death.

In the end, that multitude of sin draws on one another until sin becomes as a cart rope from which we are unable to free ourselves and we become slaves to another master, which is Satan.

Job 8:13  So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish: 
Job 8:14  Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web. 

These are the same people who reject the Word of God and reject that God will punish anyone.

They do not believe any of God’s prophets and they reject any and all warnings from the Word of God!

God says that those that think in this fashion are simply “fools”!

Psa 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 
Psa 14:2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 
Psa 14:3  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

But God still warns the others:

*****Isa 5:20  Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! 

There is no better day than today, when we can openly see these things right before our eyes!

It seems that our society seeks an excuse to accept every sin of the human imagination!

They say, thief is only a thief because of the way he was raised and deserve pity rather than punishment.
They say, the murderer was abused when they were young and deserve pity rather than punishment.
They say, Even the terrorist who has allowed a twisted religion to control his life, deserves our pity rather than punishment.
They say, that people should be able to determine if they are are male or female in their own minds and live accordingly.

God says they have only become “reprobates”!

And all those that think differently are now considered to be evil!

There are also those who rely on religion and religious practices rather than “faith” in the Lord Jesus Christ and even Jesus is looked upon as evil and the blood of Jesus is looked upon as filth.

There are those who pick and choose from the Word of God, like they are in some cafeteria with a menu, when all the Word of God rightly divided is to be followed.

Then there are those who love the praise of men more than they love the praise of God!

The truth is, whatever doctrine that is contrary to the nature and the attributes of God is then evil and there can be no excuses for sin!

We are to always hate sin but we are never to hate the sinner. This is showing pity to that sinner but the punishment for sin must still be administered and those that know the truth of God and do the truth of God, are never to be considered evil.

If God is not good, because He says He is, then the Word of God is only a book of lies, which is certainly not true!

God has no evil in Him at all, because He is a righteous God, which means God always does things that are the right thing to do because this is His true nature!

We live in a world today where most of mankind have lost the notions of what is good and what is evil!
We live in a world that is confused about morality!
We live in a world today that is sinking deeper and deeper into sin.
We live in a world today where a group of people have declared that they have the right to live their life in any way that they please and no one has the right to tell them differently!
We live in a world today where people’s values have become totally twisted and polluted, in fact perverted!

Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 

Evil is called good and good is called evil and those that disagree are called deplorables!

Whatever people decide to do, they feel they have the freedom to do so and no one has the freedom to stop them!

Pro 17:15  He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD. 

But God is not yet through:

*****Isa 5:21  Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! 

The truth is, as a people, especially the people of so-called rich nations and nations that rely on might, there exist a delusive estimate of human wisdom which brings with it the worst form of “pride”.

What does God say”

Jas 3:13  Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 
Jas 3:14  But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 
Jas 3:15  This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 
Jas 3:16  For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 
Jas 3:17  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 

No doubt that this part of Isaiah’s vision is centered on the politicians and the so-called elite of our world.

These are some of the same ones who deny the Word of God and rely on so-called scientist, who have already gone against the the description of true science and no longer depend on facts but only on conjecture without actual proof. Theory, and wrong theory have overcome the science world!

Much money could be saved if the world would just hire the soothsayer or the astrologer because there is not much difference in them and what is called science today!

Self-conceit causes ignorance and vanity, but never true wisdom!

Pro 26:12  Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. 

The truth is we live a world ruled by reprobates and fools, who have deceived even their own selves and the rest just see an opportunity to get rich off of that deception!

And again God mentions those who drink of alcohol:

*****Isa 5:22  Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: 
Isa 5:23  Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! 

How can there be so many instances in the Word of God, where God condemns alcoholic beverages and so many teach that moderation still is the rule. These are some of the same who have rejected the truth of God!

This would also include any and all substances that can alter the mind!

Those who want a high should try to get high on the Holy Spirit, there is no greater realism of awareness!

No doubt that this Scripture makes reference to unjust lawyers and unjust judges who are not fit to sit in judgment of people, who do the same thing.

These same people should never judge people who abide by the Word of God!

The truth is, they will only judge for rewards of some sort. Not all rewards are financial! Some rewards come from being moved to a higher bench just because they are willing to go along with others who reject the truth of God. They make up the laws as they go!

Pro 29:26  Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD. 
Pro 29:27  An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked. 

Now we will see that word “therefore” which means because of all these things comes the “judgment of God”.

*****Isa 5:24  “Therefore” as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 

When we began it was noted that Israel was God’s vineyard, so we can see how great was this ruin of Israel.

The key sin was that they had “cast away the law of the Lord of hosts (Jesus Christ is the Lord of the angelic host and the armies of God) and they had despised the Word of God. (The “Grace Of God” had been received in vain!)

Now we know that God does not ever change, so these things will hold true for all who do these things!

We can definitely see that these are the things that will bring the wrath of God!

Again that word “therefore” for these reasons:

*****Isa 5:25  “Therefore” is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 
Isa 5:26  And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: 
Isa 5:27  None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: 
Isa 5:28  Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind: 
Isa 5:29  Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it. 

God’s judgment will be quick and it will be sudden and it will be complete!

The reason for God’s judgment is unmistakable! These people had rejected the Word of God!

The Word of God is not only a guide for this life but a guide to lead us to eternal life!

God will begin with a great earthquake:

Isa 29:8  It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. 

The Apostle Paul wrote these words by the Holy Spirit:

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 
Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 

We should understand that it was Isaiah who prophesied of this time in which Israel is still in even in this day!

Isa 29:10  For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 

God’s hand is still stretched out against Israel and will remain so until Israel as a nation and as a people return to the Lord.

2Ch_7:14  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

These things are not said about any other people and Israel will not return to the Lord until they go through the 7 year tribulation period and at the Second Coming of the Lord. (Verse 26)

Zec 10:8  I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. 

They will in that day return speedily to the Lord!

Though many will come from long distances, none will be weary.
None of them will stumble or fail to get to the Lord they, will easily overcome all the difficulties.
They shall not desire even to rest as they are prepared to serve the Lord of Host.
Nothing on this earth can stop them from going home!

As the battle draws near they will roar with enthusiasm and this roaring will terrify their enemies!

As the world is in the darkness of Armageddon, a light from Heaven will light the way of God’s redeemed!

So, we see the warning has been issued. God will one day judge this earth!

There is coming a day when everyone will give an account for what they have done!

Those that have accepted the truth of the Word of God, whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will miss the Great Tribulation and return with the Lord at His Second Coming!

Those Jews who have returned to the Lord will go through the Tribulation and return to the Lord before Armageddon.

Those who are saved during the tribulation period will for the most part become martyr’s and also return with the Lord.

Those that have rejected the Word of God and His Lord of Host, “Jesus Christ” will be consumed in the flames of the Burning Lake of Fire, along with Satan, the False Prophet, and the False Spirit of evil.

What is the truth?

Jas 4:14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 

There is really not that much time to accept the calling of God, because we simply do not know the day of our death.

As each day passes we are another day closer to the return of the Lord and when He returns it will be very quick!

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Will God Judge His People

/ Bobby Mayfield / Leave a comment

God Judges His People

Book of Isaiah 2

The world does not know what lies in the future but we can be sure if someone knew what the future held for them, they would change things before that time arrived.

The truth is, all people can know what lies in the future but the greatest future for any human being is rejected by most of the world.

The Lord gave Isaiah a glimpse of what lies in not only the future, “near and far” for Israel, but also a glimpse of the future of all human beings.

What is the truth?

Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Most of this world rejects this truth but the truth is always the truth and cannot be changed!

Why is Israel hated so much?

Because the Bible states emphatically that all nations and all people shall yet acknowledge the God of Israel!

We can also be sure that God will always preserve Jerusalem. Why do the Moslem have such a great desire to keep Jerusalem because they believe part of the Word of God and the Word of God says that Jerusalem will be the capitol city of this world one day in our future. They just think they can hold onto Jerusalem by force or deceit which will certainly fail and it will be they who will rule the world. They simply think it is man-made power that controls this world which is simply nor true. There is a supernatural force in control of His own creation!

There is only one way to be a citizen of the true Jerusalem and the Word of God explains it very well and without confusion.

Let’s Begin:

*****Isa 2:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isa 2:3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

In chapter 1 we saw a vision given to Isaiah by the Lord and now in chapter 2 we see another vision, and though it may overlap with the first one it is still a new vision.

We have a tendency to use the phrase “the word of prophecy says” but we need to understand these are actually decrees that come from the mouth of God! A decree is God’s unchangeable Words that are always true!

Psa 33:11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

When the Word of God says “it shall come to pass” when we can depend on that thing being the truth and one day will certainly come to pass!

The Temple existed in the time of Isaiah so he was not talking about that Temple. Isaiah is looking far beyond what will happen to the Jews in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, far beyond the rebuilt Temple, and far beyond the first coming of the Messiah.

The nations that are set in place after the 7 year tribulation period are already in place at the time of this vision!

All those nations of this day are calling on the Lord and what do the people say? “Come ye, let’s go to the mountain of the Lord”. They still have that freedom to choose and they will encourage one another and they know that King Jesus is already there.

By this time, Israel again is the lead nation of this world.

What are three events we know of, according to the Word of God that lie in the future?

1) There will be the “Day of the Lord”.

Isa_13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

2) There will be the future Kingdom of God on this earth and a new Temple.

Dan 2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

3) There will be the restoration of Israel as the dominant nation of this world.

Amo 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

God says it and that settles it!

There will be only one rule of government and the world will finally know peace but after every war there are people that need to be fed and their fears removed.

*****Isa 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

That word “judge” in verse 4 means the government of God will be in place.

A “Theocracy” is when this entire world will be under the direct government of God Himself!

There will be no councilor, there will be no three branches of government, there will be no Constitution and there will be no Bill of Rights, there will only be the Word of God, which by the way, we have a complete copy of already!

God will order “all” the affairs of this world and He will do so “judicially”. God has never judged for destruction because He will only judge for correction! He will rebuke many people!

The world will have already witnessed the wrath of God!

The world will melt down all the weapons of war to be used to prepare the soil for food and much food will be needed.

Amo 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

Eze 36:35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

Isaiah was so excited about this vision, he not only said this to Judah but he spoke to all the tribes of Jacob.

*****Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Isaiah said to his people, since we can know all these things, then why not repent and return to the Lord “now”.

The worldly ways of Israel would bring only destruction. As Judah followed in those same tracts of Israel, they would see that the ways of the world would only lead to destruction. It is only those that walk in the light of the Lord, who would see the things that God has reserved for His people!

This invitation to come to the Lord is still in place, at this time but there will be a time when God will say no to those that already been offered that chance to come.

Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Those that have rejected the Word of God will certainly see the “Day of the Lord”!

*****Isa 2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.

The most terrible statement in the Word of God is those words “thou hast forsaken thy people”!

The truth is, God will never forsake those that love Him, but in truth God will forsake all those that reject Him and God gives all of us His reasoning. “God forsakes all those that forsake Him”!

That word “therefore” means to look and understand the previous Scriptures.

God not only has total control of the life we have now, God has total control of life after the death of this life.

There will be a day that God will “judge” this world, “the day of the Lord” and in fact this is not even a time period but just as the Scripture says “a day”. God does not need a great deal of time to defeat His enemies, it will only take a small part of “one day”!

God does not ever do these things for a lack of love!

The lost world and many false Christians keep saying that a Loving God would never do such a thing. God will simply remove all those who have rejected Him and His Words. It’s just a matter of doing what He says He will do! God does not ever threaten but God will certainly “Warn”!

When this world becomes your god then you have rejected the truth of God!

Exo_20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Jer_25:6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

The Jews of this day of Isaiah had turned to the East for the things they needed. They had turned to the land of Mesopotamia, the land of Nebuchadnezzar. They had turned to the world and walked away from their Redeemer!

In this Scripture a “soothsayer” is one who practices magic, a diviner, a sorcerer. These Jews had turned to the occult to get the answers of the future, ignoring the Word of Truth, the Word of God and His prophets of the truth of God.

We can see that the Philistines, the Palestinians of today, also practiced these same practices of the occult and still do today!

We also see that they had allowed the children of immigrants from other countries to bring in their false worship to influence the people of God and we see this happening today in our own nation.

When God forsakes as a Father and a Friend, He then becomes the “Judge”! God will always “Judge” by His written Word!

Lev 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Lev 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
Lev 20:8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you.

We are fools to think that the Lord will ever change His ways!

*****Isa 2:7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
Isa 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
Isa 2:9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

What is the sequence of idolatry?

1) Money in abundance, the love of money is the root of all evil.
2) Money buys horses, the horse stands for power, and the lust for power is truly an evil thing.
3) Horses require chariots. Power requires violence, ambition, more money and authority.
4) Then those under that authority need something to occupy their minds “spiritual adultery”. Places of worship where there are religious rites and ceremonies. Nothing suits the world better than an idol that can be placed on a shelf and called upon only when needed and not expecting an answer and that requires no obligations. They worship the work of their own hands as this world does today!

An idol requires a degrading of human dignity!
When we can bow down to our own creations we have made our own life meaningless!
We have also made God’s creation an accident!

At this point, God simply cannot forgive them and they will drink the wine of “Divine Wrath”!

What is the truth?

Psa 10:16 The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

We sometimes forget that we live in God’s Creation and we are to abide by God’s rules!

God will certainly “Judge” this bad behavior!

*****Isa 2:10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
Isa 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

To be honest, when the Lord returns, what else will those that have rejected Him be able to do but try to escape or hide.

All those who have been so arrogant to defy the Lord, will not want to face the truth of the Lord.
All those who have been so full of self-pride in their own accomplishments, will see that they have accomplished nothing.
All those who have denied and rebelled against the Lord all their days, will finally see that Jesus Christ is truly the Lord of all His creation.

It is the Lord alone who will be exalted in the “Day of the Lord”!

When the Lord returns, He will settle up with all those who have rejected Him in a small part of one day, thus the “Day of the Lord”.

To the Jew any part of a day was considered a full day.

It can also be said that from the time period extending from the “Rapture” of the church, through the 7 year Tribulation period, the return of Christ and on through the Millennial reign of Christ Jesus, can be considered the “Day of the Lord” to Israel, and then on through the creation of the New Heaven and the New Earth when all God’s people will become One “Bride of Christ”.

Book of Joel 2:18-3:21.
Zechariah 1:7-3:10.

During the Millennial reign of Christ, Israel will be the light to all nations which was God’s original intent, when He called Abraham out of Ur.

Isa 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Then the Lord Jesus Christ will be the Divine Ruler of this world.

Zec 6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

Zec 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

In that day, Holiness will be the rule on this earth!

Zec 14:20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
Zec 14:21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

We must always remember, those that reject the Lord cannot pray, if they do that pray will be rejected.

Thoe truth is those the reject the Lord, do not have the strength to overcome sin so they relish in it!

The truth of the “Gospel” will always seem weak to those that deny the “Gospel”!

To these people, the “Day of the Lord” will be like a world-wide crisis and all they can see is the end of mankind, when in truth it will be the beginning of what God has promised to those who love Him.

Then Isaiah, by the Holy Spirit describes some of these things.

*****Isa 2:13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
Isa 2:14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
Isa 2:15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
Isa 2:16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
Isa 2:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

The truth is, when mankind will not repent then mankind must suffer!

The truth is, all those who do not come to Christ in the time before the “Day of the Lord” will certainly flee from the doom of their own destruction on this day!

In truth, all God’s created universe all mankind, all of nature, and everything in the heavens will be humbled at the site of the Lord!

Rev 16:20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Isa 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Those on the earth on this day will realize the end of their beliefs has come!

Those on the earth will cast away all their false gods who can do them no good!

*****Isa 2:18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.

According to, the Hebrew word “Elyil” which is translated “idol”, this means “nothingness”.

“Nothingness” means things that do not exist!

All those people who worship anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ will see that God will abolish those things! To abolish means to destroy!

A special feature of God’s “judgment” will be the eradication of idolatry everywhere! Amen

This will also include the images of saints worshipped by certain groups.

1Co 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, “we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one”.

The truth is, there is nothing of this world that can represent the invisible God of Almighty Power!

Once this is realized by those who have rejected the true God, they will have nothing but fear to turn too!

*****Isa 2:19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Isa 2:20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
Isa 2:21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Untold monies have been spent to protect the leaders of many nations from catastrophes but none can be protected from the wrath of God!

We must realize there is simply no means of escape from the “judgment” of God!

All those who have refused to repent will certainly suffer at the hand of God!

Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

There are simply no way for mankind to prepare for things that have not ever been seen!

*****Isa 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

As Christians, we must not participate in the wicked behavior of this world!

Who are the truly insane in this world? It is not those whose minds that have never developed!

It is those who trust in the humanistic, materialistic philosophies of this world and reject the truth of God!

Man, is not the supreme being in this universe and there are no such things as aliens from foreign planets!

As humans, we only possess the breath of life that God has given us and He can take that away at any moment!

Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

This truth still remains, the only sin that can never be forgiven is the sin of rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ.

The truth of mankind is, that we are sinful, ignorant, lack the strength to do good, independent, rebellious and inclined to do evil, and this is just our nature!

God has provided the only means of escape from this life or what we call life, when most people still live in the misery of the unknown.

There is nothing in this world that is everlasting and worthy of our trust beyond the Word of God which gives us the truth of life!

1) As humans, we must cease from expecting perfection to come from this world.
2) As Christians, we must cease from expecting great things in this world.
3) As Christians, we must cease from expecting too much from fellow Christians, they to will sometimes fail us.
4) Therefore, we must not make fellow Christians our model or measuring faith by their faithfulness.
5) In reality, we must cease in expecting too much from Christian friendship, even Christ was forsaken by His own disciples.
6) Therefore, the only One to whom we can totally depend on is our Savior, our Redeemer, who knows us better than we know ourselves!

I have recovered from cancer, by the hand of God, so only in that sense am I better than those “who have not yet” recovered from cancer.

It is the same for the Christian! As Christians, we have recovered from our sinful lives by the Lord Jesus Christ and only in that sense “are we any better than those that remain”, who refuse to repent of their evil ways and call on the Lord for salvation.

Charles Spurgeon wrote “Man is made up of soul and soil, and the soil terribly soils the soul”.

Our flesh is simply so weak that if you cut off our air supply we will be dead in just a few moments no matter how strong we are physically!

We are simply fools to trust in what man can accomplish and ignore our Creator!

Questions?

Let’s Pray!

Isaiah’s Vision of The Future

/ Bobby Mayfield / 1 Comment

The Vision God Gave to Isaiah

Book of Isaiah Chapter 1

Everything we know about Isaiah, we will find in this book of prophecy that he says he wrote and of course under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2Ti 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Book of Isaiah is just as important as any book of the New Testament. Other than the Book of Psalms, the Book of Isaiah is the most quoted book in the New Testament.

Isaiah was called to be a prophet of God in the year that Uzziah died. This would have been about 754 BC. We may call it a coincidence but this would also have been the time that Rome was founded.

It seems that it was in “visions and dreams” that were greatest methods God used to make revelations to His Prophets.

Job 4:13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
Job 4:14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

In the days of the Bible, a person’s name had a real meaning and with a name like “Isaiah”, which means, (salvation is from the Lord) how could this man not be a Prophet, even his name was prophecy.

Isaiah’s prophecies and sermons centered on the holiness of God and God’s desire to save all mankind!

Like every other Prophet, Isaiah warned us all, of the coming wrath of God but Isaiah teaches us more about the comfort of God than the wrath of God.

God is certainly a loving God or none of us would exist today but God would not be God if He allowed non-believers to go unpunished! God must do just as He says or we could not believe any part of the Scriptures. God says He will punish all those who reject Him, in fact God says He will destroy them!

All in all, the message of Isaiah is “salvation can only come by the Lord”. Isaiah wrote:

Isa 35:8 “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness”; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
Isa 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; “but the redeemed shall walk there”:
Isa 35:10 “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return”, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

And in Matthew:
Mat 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life “a ransom” for many.

And in John:
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Only the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, can rescue any of us from our eternal deadly situation!

And Isaiah again:
Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; “he also is become my salvation”.
Isa 12:3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
**Isa 12:4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Let’s Begin:

*****Isa 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Isaiah was a great prophet of God but we already know that every prophet of God had the same importance in their message.

That word “vision” means that, Isaiah saw something that he understood as the truth and the truth of some future event. Isaiah had no doubt that his prophecies would come to be true, each and every one of them because he knew they came from God!
We should understand that this “vision” was a sign of God revealing Himself to all mankind.

2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: “but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost”.

Isaiah could clearly see the future!

Isaiah had a father named Amoz but this was not the prophet Amos or anyone else named Amos.

In many cases these “prophets” of God were also called “seers” because they would predict the future.

SO, What did Isaiah see?

*****Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Isa 1:3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
Isa 1:4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

The truth is, it seems that the only part of God’s creation that refuses to hear when God speaks “are the humans”!
Our man-made privileges nor our man-made blessings can save us from being eternally separated from God, all man-made things will soon become a curse.

“God cannot give us what we refuse to receive”! A gift must be received to be of any value!

The Nation of Israel had been rebellious from the time of Moses.

Deu_9:24 Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.

In the days of Isaiah, these Jews worshipped the Sun and the Moon. They worshipped Baal upon the high places and the “groves”. Some had cast their children into the arms of Moloch and then after these things, they would still turn to worship God in the Temple making untold burnt offerings and animal sacrifices.

When God should have rejected them, God still loved them and sent His Word by His prophets, to warn them and then to guide them into reality.

We could say that what the Book of Romans is to the Christian, what the Book of Isaiah is to the Jews.

God will always extend a Father to son or a Father to daughter relationship to mankind and there will never be any grandchildren in the family of God, they are all God’s children!

Eph_4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

God had chosen the Israelites to be His special witnesses of the Word of God upon this earth, to proclaim the coming of the Lord and to make application of the Word of God to their lives. To be an example to the world.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
Gen 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

What is open rebellion? Rebellion is the open resistance to the Authority and the Government of God! We owe our allegiance to our Creator.

This is the very reason that the creation truth in the Book of Genesis remains under attack!

If we reject a Creator, then we are not rebelling against His truths.

The truth is, even an ox or a donkey realize they have a master and God says these Jews showed that they were not as wise as some dumb animals. We can still say this today about those of our own nation.

They had not only corrupted themselves but they had set out to corrupt their whole nation.

We can see that some things will never change! The wicked are never satisfied until they have caused everyone else to be as wicked as they are!

2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

In truth, these people had forsaken the Almighty God, the Holy One of Israel!

Our God is “holy” and He expects us all to be holy! This is not some suggestion but a command!

1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

And God asks how can we walk together unless we think the same way?

Amo 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

We cannot walk with God and be walking in the ways of the world!

And God simply ask, “are you not tired of chastisement”? It seems some people just love misery to much to give it up!

*****Isa 1:5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
Isa 1:6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

The truth is, many had been chastised so much that there was not a place on their flesh for any new marks.

Psa 38:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones “because of my sin”.

We may sometimes ask ourselves, why Lord, when we already know the answer!

Not everything that happens to us comes from our sin but we can be sure that un-repented sin will bring the chastisement of God. Until we realize these things, even chastisement will become a great burden to carry.

Psa 38:4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
Psa 38:5 My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.

The whole head will be sick and the whole heart will faint!

Jer 2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Remember God is dealing with a nation and not the individual when He says from the soul of your feet to the head.

Sin will destroy any people and any nation!

To treat a wound in the day of Isaiah, the wound was first pressed to remove any foreign obstacles, then bandaged and softened with oil. Our example comes from the “good Samaritan”.

Luk 10:34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

The wounds of Israel had not been pressed or closed, had not been bound, and had not been mollified with ointment.

Israel was as an open sore to the world, because they were so foolish. Israel had begun to rot as an untreated sore and began to canker and whole limbs needed to be removed!

Sin is as the worst form of any Cancer!

Sin is noticeable in every nation. Let’s just look at America, as Isaiah describes the Israel of his day.

*****Isa 1:7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

All we have to do is watch the news to see these same things occurring in our own nation today!
It is hard to imagine that these things are even promoted by certain ones in our own government.

Sin will ruin any nation!

We should understand Israel will always be very important to the Lord.

Exo 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, “Israel is my son, even my firstborn”:

All those in Israel that cling to Judaism are still God’s children, only children who lack “Faith”.

Deu 32:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, “children in whom is no faith”.

God still looks over Israel as a Father over His children.

Deu 32:6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? “is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee”?

So, what does God tell the rest of the world?

Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

We could say that this blessing took place the day Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.

The fact remains that God hates sin!

It is true that God will judge sin but God still looks upon the sinner as one who can be saved from His judgment!

God hates the fact that Satan has caused such faults in His children, that requires His condemnation!

We should clearly understand when a nation starts falling apart because of sin, “and it is not in the power of that nation to stop what is happening”. The only thing that can stop such destruction is to return to the Lord!

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

God will eventually pull His hand of protection away from His rebellious children!

*****Isa 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
Isa 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isa 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

In the New Testament “Zion” can refer to the Church. “Zion” can also refer the Holy City in the Book of the Revelation.

In this day of Isaiah, “Zion” referred to the capitol city of Israel, which was Jerusalem and will always be Jerusalem!

A cottage in a vineyard was no more than a temporary shed where the keeper or the watcher of the vineyard stayed day and night to protect the fruit until it was gathered.

At the end of the season the watcher would leave and this cottage and it would be taken down or the winter weather would cause it to fall.

God is saying that He would abandon Jerusalem and Jerusalem would become a very lonely place and subject to fall.

Similar, to this cottage, a lodge was a small temporary housing for the gardener and once the cucumbers were gathered the gardener would leave this lodge completely and this lodge would soon fall.

Again, God said He would abandon Jerusalem and Jerusalem would fall.

We know that God is “our Watcher” and God is “our Gardener” and when He abandons us because of sin, we will certainly fall!

And Isaiah said the truth is, if it were not for the few that remained faithful, Jerusalem would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.

What do we know about Sodom and Gomorrah?

Gen 18:32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.

Had there been at least 10 righteous people in Sodom, that city would still be standing today, unless God had removed them!

We can be sure that there was a small remnant in Jerusalem, at least 10 or more, who still remained faithful to the Lord and because of this Jerusalem was not destroyed.

All these things should remind is of the “Rapture of the Church” when all those “faithful” to the Lord will be physically removed from this Earth and there will not be even one righteous person left and it is then that this world will be like Sodom and Gomorrah and God will treat this world the same as He had those cities that no longer exist! In it will even worse for the world in that day.

Then Isaiah says to the rulers of Israel, who ruled like the King of Sodom and to the people of Israel, who lived like the people of Gomorrah, listen to what the Lord is saying to all those who live this way and still seek God’s favor.

We should also understand that when the prophet is speaking, then there is still time to repent!

When God speaks Himself, it will be His last warning and there will be no time to repent!

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

It will just be too late to make meaningless sacrifices to God!

*****Isa 1:11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
Isa 1:12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
Isa 1:13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
Isa 1:14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
Isa 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

God will only allow the rebellion of this world for so long! Those who call on the Lord and at the same time reject His Word, are in for a terrible surprise!

People who refuse to obey the Word of God, then live as they please and do their own thing, will be in for a shock when the Lord returns in the clouds and the church is removed and only they remain.

It was not matter what we think, it only matters what God says!!!!!

When we rebel against the Lord, we are contributing to the immorality, the lawlessness, and the violence in our societies and this is a fact!

These Israelites began to believe that their bond with Jehovah God was maintained by sacrifice and rituals and they could not have been more wrong.

We know that with the sacrifice of animals in that day, could stay the hand of God until the next year. In fact, the idea of sacrifice as a food source to the gods comes from pagan worship and these people had already rejected the truths of God.

So, what did God say? God said, all these things are beginning to make me sick.

This should remind us of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Laodicean Church Age.

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Jesus said this kind of worship made Him sick to His stomach!

We should understand that there is only one way to worship the Lord!

Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, “when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth”: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him “must” worship him in spirit and in truth.

Some people have truth and no Spirit.
Some people have spirit but no truth.
God says we must have both!

God does not let us get by with a “maybe we will” type of worship!

God does not accept the rituals of man as even being worship!

God will only accept worship that is sincere!

We sometimes forget that when we go to worship the Lord, we are going before our Creator who is our God.

These people had combined immoral conduct with ritual worship, in their own man-made effort to please God and this will never work.

This is the way of the church today!

God will not accept the hypocrite!

How did God describe this worship?

Isa 66:3 He that killeth an ox is “as if he slew a man”; he that sacrificeth a lamb, “as if he cut off a dog’s neck”; he that offereth an oblation, “as if he offered swine’s blood”; he that burneth incense, “as if he blessed an idol”. Yea, “they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations”.

We cannot choose our own way to worship the Lord!

These people actually showed great zeal in doing these things, rather than zeal to obey God.

The sin of unbelief is the greatest sin of all and cannot be forgiven, but in reality the next greatest sin is when those who call on the Lord in ritualistic worship and then live immoral lives and think that this is pleasing to the Lord. This is worship that makes God sick!

If these things did not please God in the day of Isaiah, why would we think God is pleased with these things today?

God does not ever change His ways, His thoughts, His salvation plan, nor His judgment!

Num 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

The world had made God powerless but God’s patience is one thing that has a point of ending!

Mal 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

When we worship, God says to raise “holy hands” but the hands that continue in sin can never be holy!

When we have unrepented sin in our hearts God will not hear our prayers!

When we make vain repetitions in our prayers, we are acting like heathen in the sight of God!

Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

We cannot just attend church regular.
We cannot just repeat some ritualistic prayer.
We cannot just offer up our personal sacrifices.
We must also worship in Spirit and in Truth!

We must repent of our evil and sinful life and to repent means “to turn away from such things and think in the ways of the Lord”.

*****Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Isa 1:17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

There is only one way to wash, in order to please God!

Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

No more blood needs to be shed, the Lord Jesus shed His own blood and there is plenty to go around.

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

There is a price that had to be paid for our redemption. All those animal sacrifices and all other sacrifices could only prove that we cannot wash and clean ourselves.

Once cleansed, then we must cease to do evil or that cleansing was meaningless.

What is it to repent?

1) There must be a true sense of guilt and sinfulness.
2) There must be a realization of God’s “mercy”.
3) There must be a hatred of sin.
4) There must be a complete change in direction, we must then walk in the ways of the Lord!

Psa 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psa 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Psa 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

God says let’s talk about this, so we can be sure that God is willing to discuss salvation with anyone during this time of “Grace”.

*****Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

God simply says, “let’s bring this dispute to an end”. Your way simply will not work!

Pro 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

It is only by washing in the blood of Jesus that we can be washed as white as snow!

***We must first be willing! We must desire to be cleansed of our sin and this can take place only after we realize the truth of our sin!

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

***We must then be obedient to the Word of God! We must submit to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

***If we are not willing and we refuse and rebel against the Lord, then we will certainly be rejected by the Lord!

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Where do we find all the things the Lord has said to us? Today we call this the Bible and in my case the KJV Bible is the truth I need.

2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

When we rebel against the Lord, we will find that life is really not that pleasant without being under the protecting hands of God!

*****Isa 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Isa 1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Isa 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

When 10 of tribes of Israel had revolted to form the Northern Kingdom, Judah whose capitol was Jerusalem had remained “faithful”. God had referred to Himself as the husband to this nation of Israel so in fact, even Jerusalem had become as a harlot who sold herself to many men and had become a treacherous wife.

Judah was no more righteous but was now unfaithful, becoming a place of murderers.

Dross is the scum, the impurities thrown out in the purification of precious metals and worthless. Judah had become the scum of the earth in the eyes of God.

Unrepentant sinners who claim to know God, are the scum of the earth!

Even Judah had become useless to God. We must remember it was the job of Israel to tell the world about Jehovah God and His plan of salvation.

They had taken the fresh new wine of the Word of God and blended it with the inventions of men and had lost the Spirit in which God had given it to them. Remember the Lord Jesus said this new wine, “this fresh squeezed grape juice”, was in type His blood of the New Testament. Not some rotten or fermented juice

We cannot water down the Word of God and still call it the truth of God!

The government had rebelled and had even welcomed and encouraged false worship.
Anyone of with power to judge, could be bought with gifts.
They both sought rewards for the power they thought they had.
They were full of corruption at all levels!
They did not care for the orphans of society!
They did not care much for aged of society!
They did not care much for the truth of God at all!

All the causes of God had been rejected!

So, we do not have to imagine what God would do, He had already shown many times how He would react to rebellion!

That word “Therefore”, means for these reasons.

*****Isa 1:24 “Therefore” saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
Isa 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
Isa 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

When we see the word “therefore” we need to look back at the previous Scripture.

Those that rebel against the Word of God then become the enemies of God.
Those that rebel against the truth of God then become the adversaries of God.

It is foolish to believe that God has changed His ways today! Those that reject the Word of God then become the enemies of God and this will never change!

That word “ease” in this Scripture means to “avenge”! Today we might say “appease”, which means to reduce to a state of peace.

Deu 28:63 And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and “ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it”.
Deu 28:64 And the LORD “shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other”; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.

This is a Scripture that no one in this world can deny! Many of Israel are still scattered all around this world even though many of them are hearing that call to go home since May 14, 1948.

Verse 24 has taken place but the remaining Scriptures in this chapter are still in our future and still in the future of Israel.

This vision given to Isaiah that happened at least 700 years before the first coming of Christ, and is still in effect!
God will certainly punish sin!

Jerusalem will indeed be restored and one day this city of Jerusalem will be the capitol city of this entire world!

We should be certain that when God punishes sin, God’s aim is to restore that individual but there will still come a time when it is too late to repent and God also says He will not “clear the guilty”. (Verse 28) The guilty will never get a free ride!

God is never vindictive in His purpose!

God’s purpose here is to restore Jerusalem much like it was in the days of Solomon.

*****Isa 1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
Isa 1:28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

Just as God says here, Jerusalem will not be redeemed until the Second Coming of Christ to bring “judgment” on all those who are left after the “Rapture” of the Church.

And dont be fooled by those that say the the word “Rapture” is not in the Word of God. That particular word may not be there but the action of the “Rapture” appears more than once.

1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall “be caught” up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

That phrase “caught up” is the Greek word “harpazo” which means “to take by force”, to pluck, to seize. In Latin the word “rapture” describes this action that God will take to remove His people.

In verse 28 that word “consumed” means that the sinners and the transgressors and the destruction they have caused will cease to exist!

What will happen after the “Rapture” of the Church to those that are left behind who have rejected God’s offer of salvation?

*****Isa 1:29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
Isa 1:30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
Isa 1:31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

God gave these “visions” to His prophets to make a last appeal, a warning of the coming “Judgment” of God!

At this time, Israel had disowned their Father in Heaven.

They had refused to be the “Bride” to the righteous “Groom”.

They had failed to fulfill the purpose that God had assigned to them.

God had given them exceptional privileges but they had chosen sin over those privileges and benefits.

Gardens that were once chosen for their beauty became an emblem of “nature worship”. They had become a hedonistic society!

They worship sacred trees but those who remained close to the Lord were only seen as leaves that had fallen and faded in their eyes.

They had sacred wells but those that trusted in the Lord were seen only as dry wells.

After the Church is in Heaven they will fill ashamed of all these things but it will be to late!

Jer 8:3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

None of the gods that they have worshipped will be able to save them!

Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

And they will be consumed!

We can see that when Isaiah had this vision, he spent the rest of his days trying to convince Israel to return to the Lord.

This is now our job, to try to convince this lost and evil world, to return to the ways of the Lord, who is so full of “Grace” at this time but He will show His wrath one day not in the too distant future.

Questions?

Let’s Pray!